(Fargo, ND) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison unveiled today the specifics of a major settlement reached by his office with e-cigarette manufacturers JUUL and Altria.
The agreement, which centers around allegations of deceptive marketing practices, includes a hefty combined payment of $60.5 million by the two companies and a significant requirement for public disclosure of internal documents from JUUL and Altria.
This development comes in the wake of a high-profile three-week trial in March and April of this year, during which Minnesota vigorously pursued its case against the two corporations.
“In late March, I told a Hennepin County jury that JUUL and Altria baited, deceived, and addicted a whole new generation of kids — all so they could make money. They did this after Minnesotans had slashed youth smoking rates down to the lowest level in a generation. As we did in the Big Tobacco litigation 25 years ago, Minnesotans once again demonstrated leadership by being the first, and so far only, state in the nation to take JUUL and Altria to trial,” Attorney General Ellison said.
According to the Consent Judgment, which was filed today in Hennepin County District Court, JUUL and Altria will jointly pay the State of Minnesota a grand total of $60.5 million over the course of eight years.
The settlement sets a record for the largest per capita settlement among all 48 states and territories that have reached agreements with JUUL thus far.
