Posted on 06/22/2006 9:16:57 PM PDT by truth49
Washington, D.C., June 21, 2006— A free market state policy group succeeded in wresting a secret ruling on the tobacco settlement from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) this week. The $250 billion tobacco deal, signed in 1998 between 46 states and major tobacco companies, may well be the biggest settlement in history.
For nearly three months, the NAAG has kept secret a March 27 report by an arbitrator that could lead to reduced tobacco settlement payments for the states. NAAG claimed the report, written by the Brattle Group, was “privileged and confidential.”
But the Evergreen Freedom Foundation in Olympia, Washington, working with CEI, used its state’s public records law to force the state’s attorney general to disclose the report.
“Given that NAAG’s members are public servants, this important report should never have been kept from the public,” said Hans Bader, Competitive Enterprise Institute counsel. CEI has a pending lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the tobacco settlement.
"It's shameful that the NAAG tried to keep the report from the public," agreed Jason Mercier, senior budget analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. “The tobacco settlement is, after all, a public settlement agreement. The report would still be secret if it weren't for Washington State’s public records law.”
The Brattle report was the result of a squabble that erupted early this year between state attorneys general and Big Tobacco, partners in a cartel arrangement to bolster the major companies and provide states a steady stream of settlement money. The majors argued that settlement payments should be lowered, since their share of the domestic cigarette market declined by several percentage points in recent years. The newly revealed report sheds light on how the Brattle Group reached its conclusion that the majors had lost market share to smaller competitors.
“It’s evident now that the report takes an already unfair agreement and makes it even more unfair, anticompetitive, and anti-consumer,” Bader remarked. “The report adopted a very strained reading of the tobacco settlement agreement.”
For example, despite evidence that Big Tobacco benefited from the settlement cartel, the Brattle report found that the major companies were harmed by it. That’s because the report cherry-picked the data it used to determine whether major companies were disadvantaged.
Relevant documents:
· Background on the EFF open records request
· Background on CEI’s legal challenge to the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
Ping and save for later
The biggest fraudulent rip-off ever!
All that settlement did was reward lawyers and state officials who are swimming in money - extracted by force and cloaked in promises that they never intended to deliver in the first place.
And it took Winston out of NASCAR! You Bastards! (Meant to be screamed in my best South Park imitation voice.)
I would love to see the DOJ use RICO to go after every one of the lawyers and lawfirms who executed this major extortion of the tobacco companies. And after they send them to jail and strip them of their stolen assets plus, they should prosecute the Lotts and other politicians who enabled this crime.
Nanny state Ping.........
It will be interesting to see how this pans out.
While true the majors have lost market share, because of the settlement they have practically a monopoly, and a major say in how the newer companies get forced into paying into the extortion.
If anyone thinks for a minute this piece of nonsense ever had anything to do with smoking or health, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you, cheap.
Lots of people will be keeping a close eye on this.......especially the sharks that have been circling the fast food industry to attack as they attacked tobacco.......
I'm not so sure I would include Pharma in with the others, as thye are part of the perpetuation of these frauds ....... can you say RWJFoundation? I knew you could :)
I'll grant that :)
>>>>I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you, cheap.
I would be careful with this idiom. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg tried to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to MTA Bridges and Tunnels.
That's true - I had forgotten..........
How about ocean front property in Arizona?
You know it is bad when reality is more ironic than comedy.
Give them a few on the ocean front. I saw someone hacking into Rove's hurricane machine ;)
Cherry pick the data, cherry pick the "science," - I detect a pattern in this continuing criminal enterprise.
Thanks for the ping!
Ouch that smarts.
I like cherry picking --- but I don't think I'm referring to the same kind of picking as you are :)
meanwhile, I am FReeping by generator...LOL.
Forget to pay the electric bill????????
"I would love to see the DOJ use RICO to go after every one of the lawyers and lawfirms who executed this major extortion of the tobacco companies. And after they send them to jail and strip them of their stolen assets plus, they should prosecute the Lotts and other politicians who enabled this crime."
You have more faith in our justice system than I do.
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