In 1998, Idaho and states across the U.S. reached the landmark Master Settlement Agreement meant to reduce smoking. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador reached a new settlement with tobacco companies to immediately get a big chunk of disputed funds, but it will leave millions on the table.
That’s instead of duking it out in litigation that can last over a decade.
Idaho’s settlement — reached in March — resolved years of complicated litigation, and it’s similar to ones 38 other states and territories reached, the Idaho Office of the Attorney General says.
Those are long-running cases over disputed payments by cigarette manufacturers, stemming from a quirk in a massive 1998 settlement. That earlier deal, called the Master Settlement Agreement, requires a handful of the largest cigarette manufacturers to pay states billions of dollars annually.
Instead of risking arbitration panels potentially denying Idaho full access to around $58 million in disputed payments by major cigarette manufacturers, Idaho’s new deal settles for $37 million — and an even higher share of future disputed funds.