Philip Morris statement, March 31, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court Dismisses Punitive Damages Appeal
 
RICHMOND, Va.--(Business Wire)--
The U.S. Supreme Court today dismissed the company`s appeal of a 1999 punitive
damages award of $79.5 million to the family of a individual smoker in a case
known as Williams.
 
"While we had hoped for a different outcome, the Supreme Court has decided not
to review a narrow procedural ruling by the state court. Today`s decision does
not impact the court`s earlier decisions on punitive damages," said Murray
Garnick, Altria Client Services senior vice president and associate general
counsel, speaking on behalf of Philip Morris USA. "Importantly, the Court did
not disturb its 2007 Williams decision which held that a jury may not impose
punitive damages for harm caused to anyone other than the plaintiff in a
particular case," added Garnick.
 
The Court`s decision, however, does not end the dispute, which has been ongoing
for more than a decade. Oregon state law requires that sixty percent of any
punitive damages award be paid to the state. Philip Morris USA believes that the
Master Settlement Agreement, to which Oregon is a party, precludes the state
from collecting any punitive damages award from the company. Oregon and Philip
Morris USA are parties to a proceeding in Oregon state court that seeks a
determination of whether the MSA bars the state from collecting punitive
damages. If Philip Morris USA prevails, the company would be obligated to pay
only the remaining forty percent of the punitive damages award to the plaintiff
in this case.