PORTLAND, Ore. -- Carolina Tobacco Co. (CTC), a privately-held manufacturer of price-value cigarettes sold under the brands Roger and Kingsboro, said that it has reached a comprehensive settlement with 46 states and the District of Columbia that resolves a dispute over the company's status as the manufacturer of its Roger brand from November 1999 to April 2003.
During this period, Roger brand cigarettes were producedunder CTC's direction and controlby House of Prince Riga, a Latvian company. In 2003, states questioned CTC's legal standing to submit the [image-nocss] state certifications and make the escrow payments as required as a manufacturer under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Eventually, the dispute led to multiple lawsuits, which have been resolved with the settlement.
As part of the agreement, CTC will release more than $31 million from its escrow accounts to the states and the District of Columbia. In return, they have agreed to recognize CTC as the manufacturer of Roger brand cigarettes during the disputed period. Additionally, the states have agreed not to seek any negative action against the company that would prohibit it from doing business within their boundaries due to lack of sufficient funds in CTC's escrow accounts to compensate for sales from 1999 to 2003.
Our desire has always been to resolve this matter in a way that recognizes our status as manufacturer and solidifies our status as a leading supplier of high-quality, low-price products throughout the U.S. The agreement we've reached accomplishes this and also provides significant financial benefits to the states, said David Redmond, president of CTC, Portland, Ore.
Redmond addedd, Our fully ownedfacility in Johannesburg, South Africa, will continue to supply our customers across the nation. Renovated last year to double its production capacity, the operation provides us with the flexibility to continue expanding our market share and reach.
The more than $31 million will be distributed among the following states as determined by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the independent auditor to the MSA: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
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