Indiana Code 24-3-3-13. Interest paid and release of escrow funds; severability
(b) A tobacco product manufacturer that places funds into escrow under section 12(2) of this chapter shall receive the interest or other appreciation on such funds as earned. The funds shall be released from escrow only under the following circumstances:
Terms Used In Indiana Code 24-3-3-13
- allocable share: means Allocable Share as that term is defined in the Master Settlement Agreement. See Indiana Code 24-3-3-4
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Judgment: means all final orders, decrees, and determinations in an action and all orders upon which executions may issue. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- Master Settlement Agreement: means the settlement agreement (and related documents) entered into on November 23, 1998, by the state and leading United States tobacco product manufacturers. See Indiana Code 24-3-3-6
- person: means an individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons. See Indiana Code 24-3-3-3
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- tobacco product manufacturer: means an entity that after June 30, 1999, directly (and not exclusively through any affiliate):
Indiana Code 24-3-3-10
- units sold: means the number of individual cigarettes sold in Indiana by the applicable tobacco product manufacturer (whether directly or through a distributor, retailer, or similar intermediary or intermediaries) during the year in question. See Indiana Code 24-3-3-11
- Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(A) in the order in which they were placed into escrow; and
(B) only to the extent and at the time necessary to make payments required under such a judgment or settlement.
(2) To the extent that a tobacco product manufacturer establishes that the amount the tobacco product manufacturer is required to place in escrow on account of units sold in Indiana in a particular year exceeds the master settlement agreement payments the tobacco product manufacturer would have been required to make on account of units sold in Indiana if the tobacco product manufacturer were a participating manufacturer, as determined under section IX(i) of the master settlement agreement and after final determination of all adjustments, the excess payments shall be released from escrow and shall revert to the tobacco product manufacturer.
(3) To the extent not released from escrow under subdivision (1) or (2), funds shall be released from escrow and revert back to the tobacco product manufacturer twenty-five (25) years after the date on which the funds were placed into escrow.
(c) This subsection applies only if subsection (b) is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable. A tobacco product manufacturer that places funds into escrow under section 12(2) of this chapter shall receive the interest or other appreciation on the funds as earned. The funds shall be released from escrow only under the following circumstances:
(1) To pay a judgment or settlement on any released claim brought against the tobacco product manufacturer by the state or any releasing party located or residing in Indiana. Funds shall be released from escrow under this subdivision:
(A) in the order in which they were placed into escrow; and
(B) only to the extent and at the time necessary to make payments required under such a judgment or settlement.
(2) To the extent not released from escrow under subdivision (1), funds shall be released from escrow and revert back to the tobacco product manufacturer twenty-five (25) years after the date on which the funds were placed into escrow.
(d) This subsection applies only if subsections (b) and (c) are held to be unconstitutional or otherwise unenforceable. A tobacco product manufacturer that places funds into escrow under section 12(2) of this chapter shall receive the interest or other appreciation on such funds as earned. Such funds themselves shall be released from escrow only under the following circumstances:
(1) To pay a judgment or settlement on any released claim brought against such tobacco product manufacturer by the state or any releasing party located or residing in Indiana. Funds shall be released from escrow under this subdivision:
(A) in the order in which they were placed into escrow; and
(B) only to the extent and at the time necessary to make payments required under such a judgment or settlement.
(2) To the extent that a tobacco product manufacturer establishes that the amount it was required to place into escrow in a particular year was greater than the state’s allocable share of the total payments that the manufacturer would have been required to make in that year under the Master Settlement Agreement (as determined pursuant to section IX(i)(2) of the Master Settlement Agreement, and before any of the adjustments or offsets described in section IX(i)(3) of that Agreement other than the Inflation Adjustment) had it been a participating manufacturer, the excess shall be released from escrow and revert back to the tobacco product manufacturer.
(3) To the extent not released from escrow under subdivision (1) or (2), funds shall be released from escrow and revert back to such tobacco product manufacturer twenty-five (25) years after the date on which the funds were placed into escrow.
As added by P.L.223-1999, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.252-2003, SEC.15.