Mississippi Attorney General

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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

Mississippi Attorney General filed suit against the tobacco industry in 1994 to try and recover Medicaid costs of treating sick smokers.

Description

On May 23, 1994, Mike Moore, then Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state against 13 tobacco companies seeking compensation for government funds allocated to Medicaid, indigent care at state hospitals and insurance on state workers and state retirees due to smoking-related illnesses.(Reuters 6/7/94). The suit sought to recover the costs of treating tobacco-related illnesses among welfare recipients. The suit sought compensation for Medicaid and other welfare costs, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and damages under the legal theories of unjust enrichment and common-law public nuisance.(WSJ 5/24/94) The Mississippi suit was also based on legal principles of contracts and indemnity.(WSJ 7/8/94)

The case was Mike Moore, Attorney General v. The American Tobacco Company et al, Chancery Court of Jackson County, Mississippi (Moore v. ATC Complaint 3/23/94). The defendants removed the suit to federal court in July of 1994.(WSJ 7/8/94)

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