SCOTUS Denies Cert In MSA Antitrust Case

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the Second Circuit involving an antitrust challenge to various state statutes enacted pursuant to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Three small tobacco companies sued 30 states alleging that the statutes, which required them to place money in an escrow account to help cover potential future damages awards in tobacco-related lawsuits, violated antitrust laws as well as the Commerce Clause. The Second Circuit allowed the companies to pursue their antitrust claims. The states asked the Supreme Court to review the case to consider whether principles of due process and state sovereignty permitted a federal judge in New York to exercise jurisdiction over the state attorney general in another state. The Supreme Court, however, declined to hear the case. For more information, see this article.