United States Fifth Circuit

In an action claiming that the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached in the 1990s between the four largest tobacco manufacturers and the several states and the Louisiana Escrow Statute violated the Compact Clause, First Amendment, Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA), Commerce and Due Process Clauses, and federal antitrust laws, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) the MSA may result in an increase in bargaining power of the States vis-a-vis the tobacco manufacturers, but this increase in power does not interfere with federal supremacy; 2) the MSA and Escrow Statute working together did not create an antitrust violation; and 3) while the MSA did restrict the speech activities of participating manufacturers (PMs), the plaintiffs were not PMs and were not coerced to become PMs.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/10/2010
• Published 08/10/2010

Judges

• W. Eugene Davis

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel