A Florida jury's award Friday of $145 billion to that state's sickened smokers likely will not threaten Nevada's receipt of more than $1 billion from tobacco companies, Nevada's attorney general said Friday.
The Florida jury's record award of punitive damages will have to be reduced by the trial judge or an appellate court, Frankie Sue Del Papa said, because Florida law does not permit punitive damages so large that they bankrupt a company.
A settlement agreement between 46 states including Nevada and the tobacco industry has the companies paying those states $246 billion. Nevada has already received $27 million of its anticipated $1 billion, but concerns have been voiced that the large Florida award would bankrupt the industry and cut off the state's settlement payments.
As a precautionary step, the National Association of Attorneys General has retained a national bankruptcy firm to prepare an analysis of the states' options if any of the tobacco companies did file for bankruptcy.
"I want to clearly state that we fully intend to collect every dime that the State of Nevada is owed as part of the master settlement agreement," Del Papa said.
