Legal

State

Court upholds '98 tobacco deal (OH)
A panel of three judges in U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio upheld the validity of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), and rejected the defendant’s idea that the MSA was a conspiracy. In its lawsuit, General Tobacco claimed that it was misled into signing on to the Master Settlement Agreement. The tobacco company argued that tobacco manufacturers that did not participate in the MSA were shut out from the tobacco market due to liability concerns, forcing the company to sign on to the MSA in order to get full access to the tobacco market. Click here to read more.

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National

U.S. Chamber takes side of Big Tobacco in labels suit
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sided with tobacco companies against the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) having the authority to require graphic warning labels on cigarette packs. The pro-business lobbying group filed a friend of the court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that the warning labels go beyond traditional government efforts to regulate speech and force businesses to disparage their own products. Meanwhile, the FDA went to the D.C. Circuit Court to vacate Judge Leon’s preliminary injunction against the labels. The FDA argued that the graphic warning labels present the same message as the text warnings. The U.S. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case on April 10, 2012. Click here to read more about the Chamber of Commerce’s argument, or read more about the FDA’s argument by clicking here.

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