Attorney General Consumer Protection News: January 2022
Multistate Actions Led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a bipartisan coalition of 39 attorneys general obtained a $1.85 billion settlement with student loan servicer Navient. Under the settlement, Navient will make a total of $95 million in restitution…
Consumer Chief of the Month: Shennan Kavanagh, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
I joined the Consumer Protection Division (CPD) at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (MA AGO) in October of 2015 after 12 years in private practice litigating consumer finance class actions. My entire legal career has been devoted to consumer protection. It is an area of law that, in my experience, provides boundless opportunities to serve…
Communities of Color, Fraud, and Consumer Protection Agencies
In recent months, both the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) produced reports on the connection between minority populations and consumer issues.1 Each report came to the same conclusion: unfair and deceptive practices have unique and disproportionate impacts on communities of color. These findings suggest that more needs to be…
Supreme Court Report: Kemp v. United States, 21-5726
January 20, 2022 Volume 29, Issue 6 This Report summarizes opinions issued on January 13, 2022 (Part I); and cases granted review on January 10, 2022 (Part II). Cases Granted Review: Kemp v. United States, 21-5726 Kemp v. United States, 21-5726. The Court will consider whether a motion for relief from judgment under Federal Rule…
Supreme Court Report: Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 21-441
January 20, 2022 Volume 29, Issue 6 This Report summarizes opinions issued on January 13, 2022 (Part I); and cases granted review on January 10, 2022 (Part II). Cases Granted Review: Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 21-441 Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 21-441. This case involves the constitutionality of provisions of the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017, which established…
Supreme Court Report: United States v. Washington, 21-404
January 20, 2022 Volume 29, Issue 6 This Report summarizes opinions issued on January 13, 2022 (Part I); and cases granted review on January 10, 2022 (Part II). Cases Granted Review: United States v. Washington, 21-404 United States v. Washington, 21-404. The Court will determine whether a Washington workers’ compensation law that applies exclusively to…
Supreme Court Report: Babcock v. Kijakazi, 20-480
January 20, 2022 Volume 29, Issue 6 This Report summarizes opinions issued on January 13, 2022 (Part I); and cases granted review on January 10, 2022 (Part II). Opinion: Babcock v. Kijakazi, 20-480 Babcock v. Kijakazi, 20-480. By an 8-1 vote, the Court held that “civil-service pension payments based on employment as a ‘dual-status military…
Supreme Court Report: Biden v. Missouri, 21A240
January 20, 2022 Volume 29, Issue 6 This Report summarizes opinions issued on January 13, 2022 (Part I); and cases granted review on January 10, 2022 (Part II). Opinion: Biden v. Missouri, 21A240 Biden v. Missouri, 21A240. In a 5-4 opinion, the Court stayed preliminary injunctions granted by district courts against the vaccine mandate issued…
Supreme Court Report: National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 21A244
January 20, 2022 Volume 29, Issue 6 This Report summarizes opinions issued on January 13, 2022 (Part I); and cases granted review on January 10, 2022 (Part II). Opinion: National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 21A244 National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety…
Center for Consumer Protection 2021 Year in Review
As 2022 begins, we look back upon the consumer protection work the nation’s attorneys general undertook in 2021 with this Year in Review. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to grip the world and attorneys general took action on a number of fronts to protect consumers from COVID-related harms. But consumer protection efforts were certainly…
