The Attorney General’s office announced Wednesday a settlement with several tobacco companies that will bring $715,000 to Vermont. The total settlement of $160 million is being shared among the 46 states that participated in the suit.
This new settlement resolves claims filed last year by Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell. Sorrell alleged that cigarette manufacturer Brown and Williamson understated the number of cigarettes it produces in a year. That number is important because it partly determines how much money a cigarette maker has to contribute to the annual payments tobacco companies make to states, under the 1998 tobacco settlement.
Brown and Williamson is the nation’s third largest cigarette manufacturer. The company agreed to pay over $150 million dollars to the states in exchange for Sorrell to drop the lawsuit.