Opinion ID: 1819871
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: History of the Florida Settlement Agreement and the Master Settlement Agreement

Text: In 1995, the State of Florida and others (hereinafter State) filed a complaint against many of the defendants involved in the present action (hereinafter FSA Defendants). [5] This earlier action was initiated by the State under the Medicaid Third-Party Liability Act, section 409.910, Florida Statutes (1995). In its complaint, the State alleged counts of negligence, strict liability in tort, injunctive relief, various statutory and criminal violations, and violations of the Florida RICO Act. The State sought reimbursement of Medicaid monies expended in treating the victims of tobacco-related illnesses as well as other damages permitted by law, including punitive damages where available. Subsequent to the filing of the State's complaint, the circuit court granted the FSA Defendants' motion for summary judgment and dismissed all claims by the State for punitive damages with the exception of its claim for punitive damages contained in count four of the complaint alleging only statutory and criminal violations. [6] In 1997, the State and the FSA Defendants entered into the Florida Settlement Agreement, which resolved all present and future civil claims against all parties to [the] litigation relating to the subject matter of [the] litigation, which [were] or could have been asserted by any of the parties [thereto].  (Emphasis supplied.) Pursuant to the terms of the FSA, in exchange for agreeing to resolve these claims, the State received $550 million for unspecified purposes, $200 million for a pilot program by the State of Florida aimed at the reduction of the use of tobacco products by minors, several billion dollars paid out over a period of time for the benefit of the State of Florida, and injunctive relief. As stated by the FSA, the monies received constitute[d] not only reimbursement for Medicaid expenses incurred by the State of Florida, but also settlement of all of Florida's other claims, including those for punitive damages, RICO and other statutory theories. Also included in the FSA was a Non-Admissibility provision which provided: These settlement negotiations have been undertaken by the parties in good faith and for settlement purposes only, and neither this Settlement Agreement nor any evidence of negotiations hereunder, shall be offered or received in evidence in this Action, or any other action or proceeding, for any purpose other than in an action or proceeding arising under this Settlement Agreement. During the time period in which Florida pursued an action against the FSA Defendants, several other states also initiated actions against the FSA Defendants for similar if not identical claims. These states settled their claims against the FSA Defendants in November of 1998 when all parties to that action entered into a Master Settlement Agreement (the MSA). The MSA released all claims of the participating states and also included a Non-Admissibility provision similar to that in the FSA. Under the MSA, the FSA Defendants are required to pay certain participating states more than $200 billion over the first twenty-five years, with additional amounts to be paid in perpetuity after that.