Citland, Ltd. v. Commonwealth Ex Rel. Kilgore

KELSEY, Judge.

This case presents the question whether the Attorney General can preclude a tobacco manufacturer from doing business in the Commonwealth (by excluding it from the statutory directory set up by Code § 3.1-336.5) solely on the ground that the manufacturer failed to pay statutory penalties proposed by the Attorney General, but not yet adjudicated by the courts. We hold the governing statutes afford him no such discretion. We reverse the circuit court’s contrary ruling and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I

A. The Statutory Framework(i) The 1998…