Attorney General’s Civil Subpoenas Upheld by State Trial and Appellate Courts and Federal Court In Parallel Civil/Criminal Proceedings
New York courts recently issued decisions involving the interplay between criminal and civil investigations. In People v. Trump Organization, No. 451685/2020 (N.Y. Sup.Ct. Feb. 17, 2022), the court denied a motion to quash subpoenas issued in a civil investigation while a parallel criminal investigation was occurring. The attorney general initiated a civil investigation into whether…
Massachusetts “anti-SLAPP” Statute Does Not Apply to Attorney General Actions
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has ruled that the state’s “anti-SLAPP”1 statute does not apply to actions by the attorney general. Commonwealth v. Exxon-Mobil, No. 13211 (Mass. May 24, 2022). Anti-SLAPP statutes “provide defendants a way to quickly dismiss meritless lawsuits —filed against them for exercising their First Amendment rights. These laws aim to…
DC Court of Appeals Defines Qualifications for Candidates for DC Attorney General
In a rare case addressing the qualifications for the office of attorney general, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals held that a candidate’s tenure as a city councilmember did not satisfy the D.C. Code’s requirement that the District of Columbia attorney general must have “(5) . . . been actively engaged, for at least…
Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Independence of Indiana Attorney General
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reaffirmed the Indiana attorney general’s independence in a recent decision in an employment discrimination suit against the former attorney general of Indiana. The former attorney general had been present at a party held on the final day of the legislative session and allegedly verbally and physically…
Arkansas Supreme Court Addresses Immunity Defenses for Attorney General
The Arkansas Supreme Court recently clarified how sovereign immunity and statutory immunity apply to actions of the attorney general in Rutledge v. Remmel, 2022 Ark. 86 (Ark. 2022). Plaintiffs sued the attorney general in both her official and her individual capacity, seeking both injunctive and monetary relief. They alleged that the attorney general had filed…
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Rules that Attorney General May Not Prosecute Election Law Violations
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals recently ruled, on separation of powers grounds, that the attorney general of Texas does not have authority to prosecute violations of Texas’ election laws, and that a statute purporting to give the attorney general that power is unconstitutional. Texas v. Stephens, No. PD-1033-20 (Tex. Crim. App. Dec. 15, 2021)….
Korean Company Has Sufficient Nexus with State to Permit Gas Price Manipulation Suit by California Attorney General
A recent decision by the California Court of Appeal clarified that, to demonstrate the court’s personal jurisdiction over a defendant in an antitrust case, the attorney general must simply establish that a defendant’s activities directed at the California market have a direct nexus with the anticompetitive conduct alleged in the complaint. SK Trading International Co….
Kansas Attorney General May Appeal Trial Court Decision After Intervening
The Kansas supreme court recently issued a decision on mask mandates which addressed the attorney general’s right to appeal after having intervened in the case. Butler v. Shawnee Mission Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 2022 Kan. LEXIS 4 (Kan. Jan. 7, 2022). The school board of Shawnee Mission, Kansas adopted a mask mandate to address…
Recent Decisions on the Common Interest Doctrine and Multistate Cases
State courts in Minnesota and Vermont have reached different conclusions about whether documents produced and exchanged by state attorneys general, working together on investigations, are protected by the common interest doctrine from release under state public records acts. In each case, Energy Policy Advocates (EPA) made requests under the Minnesota and Vermont public records statutes…
Tennessee Attorney General Use of Investigative Demands Approved
A recent decision in Tennessee reaffirmed that attorney general’s civil investigative authority and upheld sanctions against a company who failed to produce the requested material. In In re Investigation of Wall and Assocs. 2021 Tenn. App. LEXIS 449 (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 12. 2021), the defendant was a provider of taxpayer services. The Tennessee attorney…
