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Tax lawsuit over Native cigarette sales resolved

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Federal authorities say the final disputed elements of a law controlling cigarette distribution have been resolved in a lawsuit brought by Seneca Indian Nation businesses.The U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo says the businesses have withdrawn their objection to parts of the law they continued to challenge after a judge in 2010 upheld a ban on mail-order sales, a major part of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act. 

At the time, the judge temporarily exempted more than 140 Seneca-owned businesses from a provision requiring them to comply with all taxing laws in the places they sell cigarettes.

U.S. Attorney William Hochul says the Seneca Free Trade Association asked for the case to be dismissed and an agreement approved last week ended a separate action brought by a Seneca smoke shop.