A unanimous three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing the state’s attempts to force the Seneca-Cayuga Tobacco Company to comply with terms of the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. (That was the deal most state attorneys general struck with major tobacco companies in 1998 to avouid future lawsuits.)
The Seneca-Cayuga company contended its Indian tribal ties exempted it from state litigation.
