Each week, Crowell & Moring's State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. Here are this week's updates.

Multistate

  • A coalition of 20 attorneys general called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action to protect babies and young children nationwide from lead and toxic metals in baby food. The coalition urges the FDA to issue specific guidance to the baby food industry that would require testing of all finished food products for toxic materials based on recent findings of lead poisoning in recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches sold in stores throughout the country.
  • A coalition of 39 attorneys general urged Congress to pass legislation that will hold Pharmacy Benefit Managers accountable for unfair and deceptive practices that drive up the cost of prescription drugs. Specifically, the letter argues for the increased regulation of certain business practices to ensure greater transparency and accountability while also keeping drug prices reasonable.
  • A coalition of 19 State Attorneys General, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, submitted a comment letter in support of the Federal Trade Commission's proposed Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (also known as "junk fees"). In the letter, the Attorneys General highlight their enforcement efforts to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive fee practices.

California

  • Attorney General Bonta announced a $5 million settlement with Quest Diagnostics for illegal disposal of hazardous waste, medical waste, and protected patient information at its facilities. The payment includes penalties, costs, and supplemental environmental projects. The settlement, which was reached following a state-wide audit and over 30 inspections of the company's disposal procedures, also requires that Quest Diagnostics make significant changes to its operations and practices in its California facilities.
  • Attorney General Bonta announced a decision by the California Court of Appeals affirming a lower court's decision that found in the state's favor in its lawsuit against Ashford University, an online, for-profit college, and its parent company Zovio, Inc. (formerly Bridgepoint Education). The decision upheld a judgment against the university for violating California's unfair competition and false advertising laws by giving students false or misleading information about career outcomes, cost and financial aid, pace of degree programs, and transfer credits. The university must pay more than $21 million in civil penalties.
  • Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief in Capito v. San Jose Healthcare System, LP, a case alleging unfair and deceptive emergency room billing practices and surprise fees charged to patients. The case alleges that the hospital violated the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) with the practice of adding an evaluation and management services fee to bills without disclosing the amount of the fee or when it would be charged.
  • Attorney General Bonta announced the introduction of a bill that would ensure the implementation of a flavored tobacco ban, which aims to combat the illegal sale and targeting of flavored tobacco products to youth. The bill includes new enforcement efforts from the Attorney General's office and the establishment of a list of products that are allowed to be sold in California.

Colorado

  • Attorney General Weiser announced a settlement with Prosper Marketplace, Inc., a lending company, which extends a 2019 agreement to maintain Prosper's loan lending at or below Colorado's rate caps in compliance with House Bill 23-1229. The state's 2019 investigation of Prosper alleges that it partnered with WebBank and made to loans to Coloradans at rates that exceeded state law. Prosper will pay penalties totaling $10,000 to the Colorado Department of Law, which will use the funds for restitution, consumer or creditor education, consumer credit or consumer protection enforcement, and other efforts to advance the public welfare.
  • Attorney General Weiser filed a lawsuit to block a proposed merger between supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons. According to the complaint, the merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between Kroger and Albertsons and consolidate an already heavily concentrated market, which the AG's office argues would negatively affect Colorado shoppers, workers, and suppliers. The lawsuit also challenges an alleged "no-poach" agreement between the two companies during a 2022 strike. The lawsuit seeks monetary and injunctive relief, including civil penalties of $1,000,000 from both Kroger and Albertsons. The AG's office also seeks to permanently block the merger and prohibit the defendants from entering any agreements to not hire each other's employees or not to solicit each other's customers.

Kentucky

  • Attorney General Coleman wrote to President Biden urging the administration to abandon its proposed pause on liquified natural gas exports, arguing that such a move would encourage overseas adversaries such as Russia, Iran, and China and undercut American energy independence.

Minnesota

  • Attorney General Ellison announced a settlement with solar garden operators FastSun Solar, LLC, Cypress Creek Renewables, LLC, Generate Capital, Inc., and Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited, following an investigation that revealed customers had been charged unreasonable early-termination fees. The settlement requires the operators to pay $85,000 in restitution.

New York

  • Attorney General James announced that the Trump Organization. following an investigation that revealed customers had been charged unreasonable early-termination fees, was ordered to pay $465 million in damages for engaging in financial fraud and illegal conduct to inflate the company's net worth.
  • Attorney General James, in partnership with the New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty A. Rosa, announced a settlement with College Board, resolving allegations that the company collected students' personal information when they took standardized tests such as PSAT, SAT, and AP exams. The investigation also revealed that in 2019, College Board also improperly licensed students' information to colleges, scholarship programs and other customers, for more than 237,000 students in the state. According to the settlement, College Board must pay $750,000 in civil penalties, disgorgement, and costs to the state. College Board is prohibited from using the New York student data it collects or receives from any contracts with a New York educational agency for any marketing or commercial purposes.

Ohio

  • Attorney General Yost announced a settlement with Family Dollar following an investigation into price discrepancies, namely that the retailer was displaying lower prices on store shelves than were charged at registers. As part of the settlement, Family Dollar acknowledged violations of the Ohio Consumer Protection Sales Act, agreed to pay $1 million in civil penalties, and, pledged to implement changes to ensure accurate pricing by hiring adequate staff.

Utah

  • Attorney General Reyes issued a press release regarding his efforts to address robocalls, now that the FCC has outlawed AI-generated voice calls.

Vermont

  • Attorney General Clark announced that the U.S. District Court in Burlington granted the Attorney General's motion to remand the State's consumer protection case against Exxon and other fossil fuel producers regarding alleged misrepresentations and greenwashing related to fossil fuel products to state court.

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