General Tobacco Makes $17 Million Payment to MSA

Source from:  Winston-Salem Journal 09/25/2009

General Tobacco Co. said yesterday that it has made a $17 million advance payment of its annual obligation to the Master Settlement Agreement. General said that since joining the MSA in 2004, it has paid close to $563 million. General is facing pressure from the 46 participating states in the MSA to make good on its back-payment obligations. Arkansas' attorney general, Dustin McDaniel, in a legal action filed July 29 requests that a judge make General pay at least $284.5 million in back payments to the 46 participating states. He also wants a judgment issued that General has breached the terms of the MSA regarding its obligations. If the judgment is granted, it means that the attorneys general could delist General's discount brands from a list of government-approved tobacco products. Companies that are not on the list have difficulty getting their products onto market. Enditem