On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to change a court ruling made by the Illinois Supreme Court last year in a class action personal injury case against Philip Morris USA.  

The original personal injury lawsuit involved smokers alleging that Philip Morris knew its "light" and "low tar" cigarettes were not really less harmful than regular cigarettes.  In March 2003 an Illinois judge ruled in favor of the smokers and awarded $10.1 billion as a personal injury award. 

The Illinois Supreme Court  overturned the personal injury settlement last year stating that Philip Morris could not be held liable under state law since the Federal Trade Commission allowed the cigarette companies to falsely characterize the cigarettes.