State, Tribe Reach Deal on Tobacco Cases

Settlement affects lawsuits that allege tribal retailers sold products without a permit.

May 11, 2010

BOISE, ID - The Idaho Attorney General and Washington-based Lil?? Brown Smoke Shop, a tribal company that settles tobacco products, have agreed to settle a pair of lawsuits over allegations that the retailer sold products without a permit, the Associated Press reports. Terms of the settlement were not immediately available.

Idaho Deputy Attorney General Brett DeLange said that if approved, the resolution would end a legal fight that began last year and involved both state and federal courts.

The Lil?? Brown Smoke Shop, licensed by the Yakama Tribe in Washington, sued in federal court last February after Idaho attorneys accused it of violating Idaho??s Minors Access Act, a law designed to regulate the sale of tobacco and which requires tobacco retailers to obtain a permit from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The law also targets Internet sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

In its lawsuit, Lil?? Brown Smoke Shop (LBSS) claimed that federal law, tribal sovereignty, and a 1855 treaty protected it from having to obtain a state permit. It also denied it was selling cigarettes over the Internet to Idaho consumers and maintained that it used an age verification system to restrict sales to minors.

Just days after its court filing, the state responded by filing its own lawsuit in state court, accusing the retailer of ignoring the Minors Access Act and conducting business in the state without being registered. The suit also sought an injunction to force LBSS from selling its products in Idaho until it complied with state rules.

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