Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Gault

HUNSTEIN, Presiding Justice.

In 1997 the State of Georgia brought suit in the Superior Court of Fulton County against a number of cigarette manufacturers, including Brown & Williamson (“B&W”), asserting product liability claims and seeking compensatory and punitive damages “to restore to the State’s treasury those funds spent [by the State] for tobacco attributable health care costs.” The parties settled the case one year later when the tobacco companies paid the State of Georgia $4.8 billion. The Master Settlement Agreement, which was approved by the superior court, provided, inter alia, that…