Lawsuit Targets States’ 1998 Tobacco Settlement
A Washington advocacy group filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Louisiana challenging the state’s participation in a $206-billion settlement with the tobacco industry.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute sued on behalf of a tobacco distributor, two manufacturers that weren’t part of the settlement, a tobacco store and an individual smoker.
The case challenges the 1998 agreement between cigarette makers and 46 states on constitutional grounds. The complaint, filed in federal court in Shreveport, claims that the accord violates a prohibition against states making compacts among themselves without the approval of Congress.
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