Indiana Governor May Retain Counsel without Attorney General’s Consent
The Indiana General Assembly enacted a law that allowed it to call itself into emergency session and overrode the Governor’s veto. The Governor sued the legislature, challenging the law as “unconstitutionally co-opting a purely executive function.” The Governor argued that under the state constitution, only the Governor can call an emergency session, and this law,…
California Private Attorney General Statute Does Not Usurp Attorney General Powers
A lobbying group for small and mid-sized businesses challenged California’s Labor Code Private Attorney General Act (PAGA). PAGA “allows California employees to sue their employers and pursue civil penalties on behalf of the state for violations relating not only to themselves, but also to other California employees of the same employer.” PAGA is a qui…
2022 NAAG Legislative Victories
As the chief legal officer of their state, attorneys general often provide important input on both regulatory and legislative proposals. This input is often provided through the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). As a nonpartisan organization, NAAG engages in policy advocacy only when an issue has bipartisan support from a majority of attorneys general….
Court Affirms States’ Parens Patriae Standing in Antitrust Case
Forty-nine states sued 20 manufacturers of generic drugs, alleging an anticompetitive scheme to “fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and engage in market and customer allocations” of certain generic pharmaceuticals. The district court recently decided defendants’ motion to dismiss, holding that although the states could not seek disgorgement, they do have parens patriae standing…
