State, tribe reach deal on tobacco cases

BOISE, Idaho (AP) – The Idaho Attorney General and a tribal company that peddles tobacco products have agreed to settle a pair of lawsuits over allegations the company sold products in Idaho without a permit.

The settlement between the state and Washington-based Lil' Brown Smoke Shop awaits a judge's approval.

Idaho Deputy Attorney General Brett DeLange declined to share specifics of the deal Thursday.

If approved, the resolution would end legal battles that began last year and played out in state and federal courts.

The Lil' Brown Smoke Shop, licensed by the Yakama Tribe in Washington, sued in federal court in February 2009 after state lawyers accused the company in a series of letters of violating Idaho's Minors Access Act. The law was designed to regulate the sale of tobacco and required retailers to obtain a permit from the Department of Health and Welfare. It was later amended to include Internet sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

In its lawsuit, Lil' Brown Smoke Shop, which ships products to consumers in Idaho, claimed it is protected by federal law and tribal sovereignty and its own 1855 treaty from having to get a state permit or face any restrictions in getting goods to the market.

The company also denied it was selling cigarettes over the Internet to Idaho buyers and claimed it used an age verification system to restrict sales to teens and had been doing business with state agencies for nearly two years without any mention of needing a permit.

Days later, the state responded by filing its own lawsuit in 4th District Court accusing the retailer of ignoring the Minors Access Act and conducting business in the state without being registered.

The state lawsuit asked a judge to issue an injunction forcing the company to stop peddling its products in Idaho until it complied with state rules.

The company's attorney, Theresa L. Keyes, of Spokane, Wash., did not immediately return a phone message left Thursday by The Associated Press.