Washington ? The Supreme Court refused Monday to let the government sue tobacco companies for $280 billion, a major victory for cigarette makers.

A federal judge presided over a nine-month trial and has not yet decided whether tobacco companies are guilty of wrongdoing.

The fight at the high court was over the amount of money the companies would have to pay if the judge rules that they violated a federal anti-racketeering law known as RICO by misleading the public about the dangers of smoking.

A lower court said that the government could not pursue companies for profits that the government claims they earned illegally.

The Supreme Court declined, without comment, to hear the Bush administration’s appeal.

The judge in the case had urged the sides to try to reach a settlement. Without the threat of a $280 billion judgment, the government has a weaker bargaining position.

The lawsuit was filed by the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration lawyer argued that if the court did not step in now to deal with this issue, the case may drag on for several more years.