Claims Pour in for Piece of $580 MIllion Smoking Fund
When the massive $145 billion verdict returned by a Miami jury in 2000 was overturned by an appellate court, around $580 million was set aside by the tobacco companies as a trust fund for the members of the class-action suit that was thrown out.
Now, after some controversial decisions about whom to award money to earlier this year, smokers have been officially filing claims for their smoking-related illnesses, and the number of claims received by the fund trustees totaled 40,000, around twice the expected number.
To participate in the fund, smokers have to prove that they smoked, were addicted to cigarettes and were Florida residents with one of several smoking-related illnesses before Nov. 21, 1996. For many, the fund amount is small consolation for the massive verdict that was overturned several years ago, which could have granted thousands of victims millions of dollars each.
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