A dispute whether states diligently pursued Master Settlement Agreement payments from tobacco companies that did not sign MSA resulted in a split decision by an arbitration panel, according to a statement by Altria Group.

Nine of 15 states were found to have diligently pursued MSA contributions from non-signatory companies in a ruling limited to payments made in 2003, according to the Altria statement and news accounts. Six were found not to have diligently pursued payments.
Based on the six non-diligent states, Altria subsidiary Philip Morris USA will receive a USD 145 million (EUR 109 million) credit, plus interest, toward next year’s MSA payment, the tobacco company said.
Among the winning states, New York state will receive USD 92 million and Ohio USD 35 million, according to a Reuters news agency report.
“Because the MSA reallocates the diligent states’ share of the adjustment amount to non-diligent states, the participating manufacturers will receive the full amount remaining in dispute for 2003 as a result of the panel's decision”, Altria said. “Some states may seek to challenge today’s decision”, the company said on 11 Sept.