Pennsylvania may not compel single-state arbitration to resolve a dispute over the nationwide 1998 settlement with several tobacco companies, the Commonwealth Court has ruled.

The dispute centers on whether Pennsylvania in 2004 adequately enforced statutes aimed at leveling the playing field among tobacco companies that participated in the nationwide settlement and those that did not. The decision regarding how diligent states were in enforcing the statutes will determine the amount of an offset the settling companies will receive in exchange for taking part in the 1998 agreement.

The Commonwealth Court's decision affirmed a ruling from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, which had denied Pennsylvania's motion to compel single-state arbitration on the issue and granted the tobacco companies' motion to compel multistate arbitration.