AG: Missouri loses arbitration in tobacco case

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said the state has lost an arbitration case and will refund money it receives through a multi-state settlement with tobacco companies.

The attorney general's office said it is reviewing the order to determine how much Missouri will need to refund. The funds will be deducted from a payment the cigarette manufacturers make this upcoming April.

A three-judge arbitration panel sided with more than 30 cigarette manufacturers' claims that Missouri and several other states had failed to diligently enforce state tobacco laws in 2003 as was required in a 1998 legal settlement with 46 states. The tobacco settlement agreement was reached in 1998.

Missouri's share of the tobacco settlement was about $150 million in 2003.