Settlement Agreement Between Plaintiff States and UBS (Dec. 21, 2018)

January 8, 2021

Forty plaintiff states reached a $68 million settlement with UBS for fraudulent conduct involving interest rate manipulation that had a significant impact on consumers and financial markets around the world. UBS’ fraudulent conduct involved the manipulation of LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate). LIBOR is a benchmark interest rate that affects financial instruments worth trillions…

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NAAG Urges Congress to Extend CARES Act Spending Deadline

November 30, 2020

With COVID-19 cases rising daily in much of the country and many states still under a health emergency declaration, we urge Congress to amend the CRF program to allow state and local governments to spend the funding at least until December 31, 2021.

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Attorneys General Urge Senate to Pass Law to Fight Shell Companies

October 26, 2020

As our States’ chief legal officers, we are concerned about the use of American financial institutions for money laundering by terrorist groups and other criminal enterprises.

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Attorneys General Urge Congress to Adopt Key Changes to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA)

October 22, 2020

As state Attorneys General, we are often the administrators of grant funding, through our state compensation programs or otherwise, financed directly from the Fund. In order to ensure the predictability and sustainability of these critical funds, change must be enacted to support our states’ ability to effectively serve victims and survivors of crime for years to come.

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NAAG Endorses Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues (SOFA) Act

October 22, 2020

States and localities are on the front line of this crisis and are a large part of winning the battle from both a law enforcement and public health perspective.

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Washington v. LG Electronics (Philips settlement), No. 12-2-15842 (King Cty Super. Ct., Wash. June 14, 2018

October 9, 2020

The state alleged that Philips participated in an unlawful conspiracy with other CRT manufacturers(including LG< Panasonic, Hitachi, Chungwha, Toshiba and Samsung, to raise, fix, maintain, or stabilize the price of Cathode Ray Tubes at artificially high levels and to maintain the quantities of CRTs at artificially low levels, in violation of Washington's consumer protection and antitrust statutes. The state alleged this conspiracy continued from 1995 to 2007.The lawsuit alleges Philips representatives attended secret meetings with other companies, known internally as "glass meetings,†in which they agreed to fix prices of CRTs. For example, the companies agreed to artificially restrict supply to keep prices high and share information with competitors regarding capacity, production, prices and customer demands for CRTs.According to the lawsuit, conspirators split the glass meetings into three tiers: "top meetings†for high-level company executives, "management meetings†for mid-level managers, and "working-level meetings†for lower-level sales and marketing employees. Philips attended meetings at all three levels. The lawsuit alleges the companies' scheme allowed them to keep CRT prices high, even as liquid crystal display, or LCD, screens were introduced to the market. Philips no longer produces CRTs. Philips agreed to pay $7 million to recompense Washington consumers.

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Washington v. LG Electronics (Samsung settlement), No. 12-2-15842 (King Cty Super. Ct., Wash. June 14, 2018

October 9, 2020

The state alleged that Samsung participated in an unlawful conspiracy with other CRT manufacturers(including LG, Panasonic, Hitachi, Chungwha, Toshiba and Philips, to raise, fix, maintain, or stabilize the price of Cathode Ray Tubes at artificially high levels and to maintain the quantities of CRTs at artificially low levels, in violation of Washington’s consumer protection and antitrust statutes. The state alleged this conspiracy continued from 1995 to 2007.The lawsuit alleges Samsung representatives attended secret meetings with other companies, known internally as “glass meetings,†in which they agreed to fix prices of CRTs. For example, the companies agreed to artificially restrict supply to keep prices high and share information with competitors regarding capacity, production, prices and customer demands for CRTs.According to the lawsuit, conspirators split the glass meetings into three tiers: “top meetings†for high-level company executives, “management meetings†for mid-level managers, and “working-level meetings†for lower-level sales and marketing employees. Samsung attended meetings at all three levels. The lawsuit alleges the companies’ scheme allowed them to keep CRT prices high, even as liquid crystal display, or LCD, screens were introduced to the market. Samsung no longer produces CRTs. Philips agreed to pay $7 million to recompense Washington consumers.

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California et al. v. Teikoku Seikayu Co.(Lidoderm), No. 3:18-cv-00675 (N.D. Cal. 01/31/18)

October 9, 2020

Plaintiff states alleged that defendant, the producer of Lidoderm (pain medication), paid or incentivized generic drug makers to delay entry into market to protect its monopoly on Lidoderm. (“pay for delay”) The settlement agreement, which expires in twenty years, prohibits Teikoku from entering into agreements that restrict generic drug manufacturers from researching, manufacturing, marketing, or selling products for a period of time and requires Teikoku to cooperate in an ongoing investigation into similarly anticompetitive conduct by other drug manufacturers, among other things.

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State of Washington v.Franciscan Health System et al, No. 3:17-cv-05690 (W.D. Wash.Aug. 31, 2017)

October 9, 2020

Plaintiff state sought to enjoin two transactions. The first was the acquisition by CHI Franciscan, a health system on the Kitsap Peninsula, of WestSound, an orthopedic physician practice. The second was CHI’s agreements with The Doctors Clinic (TDC), a multispecialty physician practice, under which TDC would receive CHI Franciscan’s negotiated reimbursement rates with payers. TDC and CHI Franciscan remain separate entities. The state alleged that the purpose of these transactions was to “win the ability to charge higher rates for physician services, and to collectively gain negotiating clout over healthcare payers by removing head-to-head competition.” The state also alleged that the affiliation between Franciscan and TDC is a price-fixing agreement which has led to increased wait times, difficulty in scheduling procedures, and a reduction in patient choice of services and locations. The parties reached a settlement that 1) bars CHI Franciscan from entering into similar agreements in the future; 2) requires the health system to give the Attorney General’s Office advanced notice of future arrangements that could decrease competition; 3) divest its controlling interest in an outpatient surgery center it acquired in Silverdale; 4)requires primary care physicians and orthopedists at The Doctors Clinic to contract with insurers separately from CHI Franciscan if the insurers desire; 5) forces CHI Franciscan to allow for incentive-based payments to The Doctors Clinic physicians for providing higher quality of care, instead of higher patient volume; 6) requires Franciscan and The Doctors Clinic to notify Kitsap Peninsula imaging patients of imaging facility options available to them other than Harrison Medical Center and 7) pay up to $2.5 million as a cy pres distribution, to be distributed by the Attorney General’s Office among at least four health providers to increase access to health care on the Kitsap Peninsula. The grant money will go toward direct patient services.

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Alaska v. Crowley Marine Services et al., No. 3AN-04-100 Civil. (Alaska Superior Court, 2005)

October 9, 2020

Alaska initiated an investigation of the merger between two companies providing barge-delivered petroleum products to western Alaska. A consent decree was reached between the parties that requires significant divestiture of vessels, storage facilities, and property to a qualified buyer approved by the state. The consent decreed was filed for approval in the Alaska Superior Court, and was approved in September, 2005 after a hearing to consider strong opposition from fuel customers in western Alaska.

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