Attorney General Consumer Protection News: January 2023

Multistate Actions A bipartisan coalition of nine states joined the U.S. Department of Justice in filing an antitrust action against Google alleging monopolization of ad tech markets. The lawsuit alleges Google leverages control over the technologies through which web display ads are bought and sold, driving out competition and receiving profits that far exceed what could be…

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Federal Agency and Other Consumer Protection News: January 2023

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) proposed a rule to establish a public registry of supervised nonbanks’ terms and conditions in form contracts that claim to waive or limit consumer rights and protections. Under the proposal, the CFPB would seek information on contract terms and conditions purporting to waive…

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Adam Teitelbaum, Consumer Protection Director, Public Advocacy Division, District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office

I have been with the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office (DC OAG) since June 2021. I initially joined as a Senior Trial Counsel, handling a variety of DC OAG’s affirmative cases. In March 2022, I became Deputy Director of DC OAG’s Office of Consumer Protection. Soon after, when Ben Wiseman left our office to…

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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,…

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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…

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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….

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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…

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Attorney General Consumer Protection News: December 2022

Multistate Actions Led by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a bipartisan group of 34 attorneys general urged the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to improve consumer protection rules for airline passengers. The letter calls on USDOT to strengthen protections for…

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