State ex rel. Petro v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Factual and Procedural Background

{¶ 1} The state of Ohio on the relation of appellee, the Attorney General, sued defendant-appellant, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (“RJR”), and other tobacco companies in 1997, alleging deceptive trade practices, antitrust violations, and other claims. The state sought various forms of relief, including recovery of Medicaid expenditures for alleged tobacco-related illnesses resulting from the use of tobacco products by Ohio Medicaid recipients. In November 1998, Ohio, along with the 45 other states and the government territories that had sued tobacco…