Tobacco firms told to pay Pa. farmers $11 million
LANCASTER - Tobacco companies must pay Pennsylvania farmers $11 million under the 1999 Master Settlement Agreement created to compensate states for tobacco-related health-care costs, a North Carolina court has ruled.
LANCASTER - Tobacco companies must pay Pennsylvania farmers $11 million under the 1999 Master Settlement Agreement created to compensate states for tobacco-related health-care costs, a North Carolina court has ruled.
The companies - Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. - are expected to appeal.
The Master Settlement Agreement included a trust containing so-called Phase II funds, set aside to compensate growers for decreased demand after tobacco companies raised prices of products to cover the cost of the settlement.
Lancaster County has about 4,000 acres of tobacco, 90 percent of the crop grown in the state. - AP