General Pays $563 Million But the States Want More

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 09/28/2009

General Tobacco said yesterday that it had made a $17 million advance payment of its annual obligation to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), bringing its total payments since joining the agreement to close to $563 million, according to a Winston-Salem Journal story. Nevertheless, General was said to be facing pressure from the 46 states participating in the MSA to meet back-payment obligations. Arkansas' attorney general, Dustin McDaniel, in a legal action filed on July 29, asked a judge to make General pay at least $284.5 million in back payments to the 46 participating states. McDaniel is seeking too a judgment that General has breached its obligations under the MSA. If the judgment is granted, the attorneys general could delist General's discount brands from the list of government-approved tobacco products. Enditem