Zombies are everywhere. On television, in the movies and on the docket of the Illinois Supreme Court.

A $10.1 billion verdict against cigarette-maker Philip Morris USA has come back to life after it was overturned about nine years ago. The class-action case is up for review at the state Supreme Court, again.

“Many people had discounted the case, and it’s still facing an uphill battle,” said Mark Gottlieb, executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law. “But amazingly, it’s not dead yet.”

The long legal battle has to do with sale of cigarettes labeled “light” or “lowered tar and nicotine.” Smokers accused the company of consumer fraud by advertising light versions as safer than regular, or full-flavored, cigarettes and sought monetary damages.

Chicago Tribune