McDowell Rice Obtains Favorable Ruling as National Arbitration Panel Once Again Backs Iowa in Tobacco Payment Dispute

Kristie Orme of McDowell Rice served as co-counsel for the State of Iowa in a national arbitration in which a three-member panel comprised of former Article III judges unanimously ruled on September 1, 2021 that the State of Iowa "diligently enforced" state laws against tobacco companies that did not sign the $206 billion, 25-year Master Settlement Agreement in 1998 between tobacco companies and 46 states, including Iowa. The decision is a significant legal victory of the state in a years-long dispute with major tobacco companies that have withheld a significant portion of their 2004 settlement payments to MSA states and territories, including Iowa. This is the second, consecutive victory for the State of Iowa in this lengthy dispute with the first favorable decision being issued on September 11, 2013. For more information, see: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/newsroom/national-arbitration-panel-once-again-backs-iowa-in-tobacco-payment-dispute/