Tobacco.org

• Ruling could cost Utah its tobacco settlement 

A federal judge on Friday put Utah one step closer to possibly losing a significant chunk of settlement cash from tobacco companies. After a hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson ordered Utah lumped into binding arbitration with some 50 states and two territories against the tobacco companies, who have claimed the states have dragged their feet in seeking legal action against other tobacco companies who chose not to participate in a 1998 settlement. This, they argue, puts participating tobacco companies, which have paid out billions to the states, at a market disadvantage. Participating companies, such as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., claim the states deserve a reduction in settlement funds, at least for the year 2003. For Utah this means it could lose its entire 2003 settlement payment of $32.6 million, posingpotentially serious problems fornumerous state health programs that rely on settlement funding. Nationally the total loss has been tallied at $1.2 billion, according to court documents.

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