WV Supreme Court opinion - WV Attorney General v. Philip Morris

Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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     On June 22, 2009, in Darrell v. McGraw, Jr. Attorney General, the State of West Virginia, et al., v. The American Tobacco Company, et al., No. 33873 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia), upheld the March 20, 2007 Order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, wherein the Circuit Court granted the tobacco company’s motion to compel arbitration.  Specifically, the Court ruled that questions regarding the State’s diligent enforcement of its qualifying statute during the 2003 year were subject to nationwide arbitration before three former federal judges pursuant to the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) entered in the litigation. The Court reasoned that the plain and unambiguous terms of the MSA provide for arbitration of a diligent enforcement determination in a single, unitary proceeding involving all participants to the MSA having interest in the resolution of this issue.  David B. Thomas and Pamela L. Campbell, Allen Guthrie & Thomas, PLLC represented Philip Morris USA, Inc.

 

Click To Read the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Opinion.