“An $11.3 billion settlement agreement from 1997 between Florida government and a group of tobacco companies was in the spotlight Tuesday when the Fourth District Court of Appeal considered whether R.J. Reynolds should continue paying millions of dollars a year for cigarette brands it no longer owns.”
BILL TARLING — If the courts decide to nullify the payments, it could potentially set a precedence where Big Tobacco companies might simply start either selling off some old lines, or simply rebranding them to tie up courts with claims that the sold lines or ‘new name’ lines should not be subject to MSA payments. Even if it wouldn’t release them from their obligations, it could feasibly tie up the payments long enough to strain State budgets — who, in turn, would likely push to increase taxes on e-liquid vapor products to compensate for the delayed tobacco revenue. Big Tobacco wouldn’t need to win additional claims, they could try outlasting the States with legal claims and lawsuits.
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