UPS Loses N.Y. Trial Over Reservations' Untaxed Cigarettes
- N.Y. attorney general claims UPS helped kids get mailed smokes
- Shipper argued at trial that state misidentified little cigars
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United Parcel Service Inc. was found by a judge to have turned a blind eye to shipments of untaxed cigarettes to New Yorkers from American Indian reservations that undermined anti-smoking efforts. The state seeks more than $800 million in damages for lost tax revenue.
U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest in Manhattan on Friday ruled that UPS failed to comply with a 2005 deal it struck with the state to fix the problem without going to court. She said she’d decide on damages later.