i guess they were trying to 'send a message'... ;)

anyway, here's where the appeal will be based:

The punitive damage award of $28 billion is nearly 33,000 times more than the compensatory damages of $850,000 the jury awarded to Bullock earlier in the case.

New York-based Philip Morris said the U.S. Supreme Court has suggested a four-to-one ratio approaches the constitutional limit of such awards. It plans to appeal.