Supreme Court lets stand Idaho ruling against online tobacco peddler

High court turns down online tobacco seller

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from an online cigarette marketer who claimed his company was immune from Idaho laws regulating tobacco sales.

The justices on Monday let stand an Idaho Supreme Court ruling against Scott B. Maybee, who sold millions of cigarettes to Idaho smokers through Smartsmoker.com and Ordersmokesdirect.com.

The state claimed in a lawsuit that Maybee, a Native American from New York, was violating state laws requiring cigarette peddlers to register with the state and pay a fee to the state. The laws were passed in the wake of the national tobacco settlement in 1998.

Maybee claimed Idaho laws don’t apply because he’s protected by federal interstate and Indian commerce laws.

The case is Maybee v. Idaho, 09-1471.