Tobacco Settlement Appeal Rejected
Sweeping away a last-ditch appeal by a smokers rights group, a state court has removed a major roadblock that has prevented tobacco companies from paying $25 billion to California coffers under the terms of a 1998 settlement.
San Francisco City Atty. Louise Renne, who filed the first local suit against tobacco companies in 1996, said Monday that the decision by the California 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego marked a major step toward finally freeing up the national tobacco money.
The $206-billion settlement reached last year between 46 states and major tobacco companies stipulates that payments cannot be released until June 2000, unless strict rules are met.
Those rules require 80% of the states to clear up outstanding legal appeals and finalize the settlement, and those states must represent at least 80% of the total payments, or about $165 billion.
A smokers rights group official said a rehearing would be sought.
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