Henley

Plaintiff brought this action for personal injuries allegedly sustained as a result of defendant's tortious misconduct in the manufacture and marketing of cigarettes. The jury returned a special verdict awarding plaintiff $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. The trial court denied defendant's motions for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict, except that it ordered a new trial on punitive damages unless plaintiff consented to reduce the punitive award to $25 million. Plaintiff consented to the reduction, and defendant filed a timely appeal.

In our original opinion we affirmed the judgment in its entirety. ( Henley v. Philip Morris (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 824 , 113 Cal.Rptr.2d 494 , review granted Jan. 29, 2002, S102941 ( Henley I). ) The Supreme Court granted review and ultimately re-transferred the matter to us with directions to "vacate [our] decision and to reconsider the cause in light of Myers v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (2002) 28 Cal.4th 828 , 123 Cal.Rptr.2d 40 , 50 P.3d 751 [ ( Myers ) ], and Naegele v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (2002) 28 Cal.4th 856 , 123 Cal.Rptr.2d 61 , 50 P.3d 769 [ ( Naegele) ]." We…