Judge tells cigarette maker to pay Florida

TALLAHASSEE — In a case involving tens of millions of dollars a year, a judge has sided with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and ruled that another cigarette maker is responsible for paying Florida under a landmark legal settlement about health-related costs of smoking.

The recent ruling by a Delaware judge, Lori W. Will, came in a long-running legal battle between R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands, LLC. The battle has centered on which company is responsible for making payments to Florida related to four cigarette brands — Salem, Winston, Kool and Maverick — that R.J. Reynolds’ parent company sold to ITG in a deal made final in 2015.

The dispute has played out in Florida and Delaware courts and is rooted in a 1997 settlement that required tobacco companies to pay the state because of smoking-related health costs. In exchange for the payments, the companies received liability protections.

Will’s ruling said the industry made an initial payment of $750 million. Florida continues to receive more than $400 million a year under the settlement, according to an August report by state economists.

R.J. Reynolds has argued that IGT Brands is responsible for making payments to Florida stemming from sales of Salem, Winston, Kool and Maverick cigarettes. But IGT Brands has contended, at least in part, that it was required to make “reasonable best efforts” to join the settlement after buying the brands but otherwise was not obligated to make payments to Florida.

In a 51-page ruling, Will ruled that IGT Brands was responsible for the payments after the deal.