R.J. Reynolds to keep paying millions in FL Settlement

A Florida judge enforced a landmark settlement deal and ordered R.J. Reynolds to continue paying the state millions of dollars in tobacco settlement money, despite selling off major brands. The ruling comes nearly a year after Florida's Attorney General sued the tobacco company and Imperial Tobacco Group, a London-based company that took over North Carolina-based Reynolds American Inc. Reportedly, the A.G. said payments will ensure Florida's historic tobacco settlement is honored and the state receives the money it is owed. Florida was already owed $45 million when the suit was filed and could lose $30 million a year going forward. The judge found that until R.J. Reynolds has its obligation to pay Florida transferred to Imperial Tobacco Group, it must continue to pay. R.J. Reynolds and other large tobacco companies were part of a 1997 multibillion-dollar settlement with Florida to compensate the state for treating sick smokers. However, the company since sold cigarette brands Kool, Winston, Salem and Maverick to Britain's Imperial Tobacco Group, with neither company continued to make payments to the state. Pushed by then-Governor Lawton Chiles, Florida was one of the first states in the U.S. to seek damages from tobacco companies. The state's initial lawsuit sought reimbursement for Medicaid costs in the past and the future and contended that tobacco companies had engaged in unlawful actions and misleading advertising. Last year, the state was projected to receive more than $350 million from the settlement. See full story here-- http://bit.ly/2E79gvs