Philip Morris and its Partner, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Lose a Skirmish
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 4:16 PM

Many states continue to look for ways to protect their tobacco settlement awards by raising the costs of small, non-settling tobacco manufacturers. The governor of Virginia had proposed legislation to slow down the return of escrow payments made by the small sellers, but the Virginia House Speaker was able to prevent the proposal from coming up for a vote, according to this article in dailypress.com (Hampton Roads, Virginia). But with big money at stake for the Virginia/Philip Morris team, one suspects that the House Speaker's maneuvering will not be the last move in this game. (Here and here are the most recent related Vice Squad posts.)

Labels: Master Settlement Agreement, tobacco