Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador reached a new settlement with tobacco companies to immediately get a big chunk of disputed funds, but it will leave millions on the table.
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, that’s instead of duking it out in litigation that can last over a decade.
The Idaho Office of the Attorney General said Idaho’s settlement — reached in March — resolved years of complicated litigation, and it’s similar to ones 38 other states and territories reached.
Those are long-running cases over disputed payments by cigarette manufacturers, stemming from a quirk in a massive 1998 settlement.
That earlier deal, called the Master Settlement Agreement, requires a handful of the largest cigarette manufacturers to pay states billions of dollars annually.
Instead of risking arbitration panels potentially denying Idaho full access to around $58 million in disputed payments by major cigarette manufacturers, Idaho’s new deal settles for $37 million — and an even higher share of future disputed funds.
