Tobacco company Altria Group Inc. MO said Wednesday it reached a settlement with the majority of lawsuits from Juul users. The company said it reached terms to settle 6,000 state and federal Juul-related cases for $235 million, and will report it as a one-time charge in the second quarter. “While we continue to believe the claims against us are meritless, we believe this settlement avoids the uncertainty and expense of a protracted legal process and is in the best interest of our shareholders,” said Murray Garnick, Altria’s general counsel, in a statement. “This settlement brings to a close the vast majority of our pending Juul-related litigation.” In April, Altria maintained its outlook for the year as earnings were generally in line. The settlement “remains subject to the parties entering into one or more final settlement agreements…approved by the relevant courts,” and does not apply to “three cases brought by attorneys general, 35 cases brought by Native American tribes, 17 antitrust cases or three Canadian cases,” the company said. Altria stock pared losses following the announcement, and were last down 1.1% on the trading day, while the S&P 500 index SPX was up 0.6%.
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