Schlesinger Law Offices wins $2 million verdict. A Palm Beach County jury on May 2, 2013 found three tobacco companies partly responsible for a grandmother's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and lung cancer death following years of suffering. They awarded more than $2 million in actual damages and for pain and suffering. The plaintiffs, Delray Beach resident David Cohen, 92, and the estate of his wife, Helen Cohen, claimed Mrs. Cohen's smoking caused her chronic illness and eventual death. The jury found R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Lorillard Tobacco Company and Liggett Group LLC, mostly responsible for Mrs. Cohen's 2006 death. The jury also found that Ms. Cohen was addicted to the nicotine found in cigarettes.

North Carolina has received $211.2 million from a recent settlement agreement involving the top three U.S. tobacco manufacturers as part of a new method of determining payments from the landmark Master Settlement Agreement. A federal arbitration panel in March approved the binding agreement. At that time, the N.C. Attorney General's Office projected the state would get $108 million in payments. The money will go to the state's General Fund and the Golden Leaf Foundation. Tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., agreed in 1998 to settle lawsuits that 46 state attorneys general brought over smokingrelated health care costs. The companies agreed to pay the states about $206 billion over more than 20 years. The states have received more than $85 billion in MSA payments. The manufacturers have said a provision in the original MSA allows them to pay less if they have lost market share to smaller companies that weren't part of the deal. With the agreement, the manufacturers will receive credits against the participating states' portion of MSA payments for the next five years. Reynolds said the agreement would be worth more than $1 billion in credits to the company over five years, while Philip Morris said it would get $450 million and Lorillard Inc. would get $198 million. The majority of the credits are expected to be taken in 2013.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company announced unaudited earnings results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the quarter, the company’s adjusted operating income increased 9.2% from the prior-year quarter of $516 million to $563 million, as higher pricing, productivity gains and the favorable impact of the partial resolution of the MSA NPM disputes more than offset declines in cigarette volume. Adjusted results exclude the 2013 MSA payment credit of $202 million, as well as charges of $4 million for implementation cost and $3 million for Engle progeny cases. GAAP operating income was $758 million compared to $377 million for the same period a year ago. Net sales were $1,558 million compared to $1,631 million for the same period a year ago.