In November, Montana's Attorney General Tim Fox announced that the state's Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement agreement worth $100 million with tobacco companies for wrongfully withholding $3 - $4.5 million from 2006 through the present.
The attorney general commented that the settlement is the largest in the history of the state’s consumer protection counsel and seeks fund under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, as well as a premium and protection for Montana’s future MSA payments.
The Montana DOJ alleged that the tobacco companies withheld the payment for more than a decade, which the state discovered in 2018. The attorney general said that the companies had withheld payments to Montana for 2003 and 2004, stating that the state did not follow the terms of the 1998 settlement, which was later proved to be a false statement.
The defendants involved in the lawsuit include Altria Group, Inc., R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, American Tobacco Company, Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp., RJR Nabisco Inc., and Hill and Knowlton Inc.
The settlement amount is expected within 60-90 days, and more than $49 million is reserved for the Tobacco Trust, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), public health programs, and, as per statute, a percentage will go to the State General Fund, as per news release from the attorney general’s office.
The case was settled while on appeal in the Montana Supreme Court, and the settlement value to the state through 2030 will be more than $100 million. The tobacco companies are waived off from rights to recover nearly $4.5 million per year through 2030, which preserves an additional $55 million.
The case was settled while on appeal to the Montana Supreme Court by the tobacco companies as notified by the attorney general's office. The Montana state has even received a ruling agreement that no other state participating in the agreement has been able to achieve. The ruling states that Montana's case can be litigated in Montana court itself.
