Illinois Attorney General (AG) Kwame Raoul recently issued a consumer alert to Illinois consumers regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by phone scammers. According to the alert, phone scammers are regularly...more
While the federal government’s campaign against hidden “junk” fees intensifies, state attorneys general (AGs) have long been contesting concealed costs as unfair or deceptive — especially in the absence of sufficient...more
12/29/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Convenience Fees ,
False Advertising ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Goods or Services ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Processing Fees ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 28, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Campbell reached an $8.75 million settlement with Rent-A-Center (RAC), the nation’s largest rent-to-own company specializing in consumer goods leases. The settlement aimed...more
Oregon Attorney General (AG) Ellen Rosenblum is taking over the helm of a crucial national organization that supports the important work of AGs across America. Rosenblum was recently elected president of the National...more
On the heels of its recent lawsuit filed against MC Solar, Florida Attorney General (AG) Ashley Moody filed two additional lawsuits against Vision Solar and SetUp My Solar for allegedly deceiving Floridians in violation of...more
12/14/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Clean Energy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Florida ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Installation Services ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Solar Farm ,
Solar Panels ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 29, Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost and Governor Mark DeWine announced a proposed $110 million settlement with Du Pont De Nemours and Co. and The Chemours Company over alleged chemical contamination from...more
12/14/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Chemical Spills ,
Chemicals ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
DuPont ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Water Pollution
A federal judge has denied the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority‘s attempt to move an environmental lawsuit to federal court to be filed by Michigan Attorney General (AG) Dana Nessel, alleging that per- and...more
12/12/2023
/ Airlines ,
Airports ,
Aviation Industry ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Forum ,
Natural Resources ,
PFAS ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
Rhode Island Attorney General (AG) Peter F. Neronha and his office filed a motion on November 30, to amend and supplement their complaint against Smart Green Solar, LLC (Smart Green) and its CEO, Jasjit Gotra, for allegedly...more
Republican attorneys general (AGs) from 19 states, led by Utah AG Sean D. Reyes, filed an amicus brief urging the Fifth Circuit to rehear a case after a panel of judges declined to entertain a lawsuit challenging diversity...more
12/7/2023
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Protection ,
Minorities ,
Nasdaq ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unconstitutional Condition
On November 22, Wisconsin Attorney General (AG) Josh Kaul announced that his office settled a civil enforcement action against Paul Bugar Trucking, Inc. and its owner, Paul J. Bugar. Kaul alleged the defendants violated a...more
Similar to other state consumer data protection acts enacted over the past two years, the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) allows Colorado consumers to opt out of the sale of personal data and the processing of such data for...more
12/5/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Colorado ,
Comment Period ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personal Data ,
Public Comment ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Data Privacy Laws
Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Campbell recently announced a number of citations against Quick Temp., Inc. (the company), its owner, and its manager, for alleged wage, sick time, and records violations....more
On November 20, Delaware Attorney General (AG) Kathy Jennings, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and 11 other states, announced a settlement in excess of $30 million with Prehired LLC and affiliated...more
11/30/2023
/ Chapter 11 ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Delaware ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Violations ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Student Loans ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 3, Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser announced that his office reached a settlement with Touchstone Partners, Inc. (Touchstone), a noted debt management company. The AG’s allegations were that Touchstone...more
11/17/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debt Management Companies ,
Debtors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General
On November 7, Virginia Attorney General (AG) Jason Miyares reminded suppliers that the current state of emergency caused by wildfires triggered Virginia’s anti-price gouging statutes, which prohibit businesses from raising...more
11/15/2023
/ Goods or Services ,
Price Gouging ,
Price Inflation ,
Public Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
State Attorneys General ,
State of Emergency ,
Suppliers ,
Virginia ,
Wildfires
Last week, Michigan Attorney General (AG) Dana Nessel formally launched an investigation under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA) into the marketing and business practices of a group of interconnected pest control...more
11/15/2023
/ Consumer Protection Act ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
Marketing ,
Pest Infestation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Scams ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Warranties
Kentucky -
Russell Coleman (R), a Louisville attorney and former federal prosecutor, prevailed over Pamela Stevenson (D), member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, for District 43. Coleman will take over from...more
On October 23, an amended complaint was filed by the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General (AG), alleging that Stone Academy, a nursing school, and its owners, Joseph Bierbaum and Mark Scheinberg, used millions of...more
11/7/2023
/ Connecticut ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Data Privacy ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health and Safety ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State Attorneys General ,
Students ,
Tuition
Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell has announced a $6.8 million settlement with the operator of an MGM resort and casino known as MGM Springfield for the entity’s alleged violations of the Massachusetts...more
11/3/2023
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
MGM ,
Minimum Wage ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
On October 26, Delaware Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Jennings filed a lawsuit against fourteen chemical companies for allegedly contaminating the state’s natural resources with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)...more
11/3/2023
/ 3M Company ,
Contamination ,
Delaware ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Regulatory Violations ,
State Attorneys General ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Warning Labels
A bipartisan coalition of 18 state attorneys general (AGs) led by Connecticut AG William Tong has signed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule its 1972 Flood v. Kuhn decision and revoke the immunity from...more
11/2/2023
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Antitrust Exemption ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Baseball ,
Federalism ,
Immunity ,
MLB ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General
On October 19, Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost filed a joint motion to enter into a consent order with two Columbus, OH properties, Garrison Southfield Park, LLC, and Olymbec USA LLC, settling claims that Garrison and...more
11/2/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cleanup Doctrine ,
Consent Order ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Pollution Control ,
Property Owners ,
Recycling ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State Attorneys General
On October 17, following Washington Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson’s unsuccessful consumer protection action against thrift store chain, Savers Value Village Inc. (Savers), the Washington Superior Court of King County...more
On October 17, 52 state and territorial attorneys general, in addition to state money transmission regulators, entered into settlements amounting to more than $20 million with ACI Worldwide (ACI), to resolve claims involving...more
10/20/2023
/ Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insufficient Funds ,
Money Transmitter ,
Mortgages ,
Payment Processors ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Regulators ,
Third Party Payments ,
Unauthorized Transactions
Rutters, a prominent grocery chain in Pennsylvania with 80 locations statewide, settled a data breach investigation with Attorney General (AG) Michelle Henry’s office by agreeing to pay $1 million and to implement certain...more
10/19/2023
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Grocery Stores ,
Pennsylvania ,
Personal Information ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State Data Breach Notification Statutes ,
State Data Privacy Laws