Philip Morris Companies Inc. says it may buy back-up electrical generators for key plants, and rent additional warehouse space to stockpile inventory.
In a 5-page opinion issued late Friday, Scalia said the Louisiana courts may have erred by refusing to allow Philip Morris and other cigarette companies to question individual plaintiffs about whether they relied on false statements to continue smoking.
FORBES: Scalia Stays $270 Million Tobacco Verdict, Hints At Reversal
Tobacco bonds, for the uninitiated, are an offshoot of a 1998 settlement among 46 state attorneys general and four big tobacco companies--Philip Morris USA, R.
The dominant tobacco companies, especially Philip Morris (now Altria) got a virtual cartel that allowed them to immediately raise cigarette prices without facing competition from smaller companies, since the AGs wrote into the pact clauses that required new companies to pay into the settlement even though they had nothing to do with the alleged behavior behind the lawsuits.
FORBES: Fewer Smokers Means Higher Taxpayer Costs, Study Finds
The Master Settlement Agreement is a masterpiece of lawyerly tinkering with market economics, giving tobacco giants like Philip Morris protection from competition by requiring smaller companies to maintain their market share or face oppressive increases in their payments to the states.
FORBES: Will The Compact Clause Trump The Tobacco Settlement?
One tobacco firm, Philip Morris, claims that 7, 500 such cases have been filed against tobacco companies over the past 50 years, and just 25 have proved successful.
Japan Tobacco, which ranks at No. 312 on Forbes list of the world's 2, 000 largest public companies, is already the third-largest tobacco company, behind Philip Morris and British American Tobacco (BAT).
Japan Tobacco, which ranks at No. 312 on Forbes list of the world's 2, 000 largest public companies, is already the third-largest tobacco company, behind Philip Morris and British American Tobacco (amex: BTI - news - people ) (BAT).
The setback could mean difficulties for Philip Morris in covering its massive liabilities to other states who have sued it, and other tobacco companies.
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