HOT NEWS

Unanimous Supreme Court Holds Class Action Fairness Act Does Not Apply to AG Actions

  • The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held this week that suits filed by State AGs based on harm to consumers are not removable to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA).
  • The decision in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp., an antitrust case brought by the State of Mississippi in state court against makers of LCD displays, resolves a circuit-split between the Fifth Circuit, which held such cases are mass actions removable under CAFA, and the Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, which held they were not. No. 12-1036.
  • The Court determined that the plaintiff language of CAFA's mass action provision, which refers to suits by "100 or more persons," referred to named plaintiffs bringing a case jointly, and could not be read, as the Fifth Circuit had held, to also include unnamed consumers alleged to be the real parties in interest in litigation filed by the AG alone.
  • The result is one advocated by the 46 AGs who filed an amicus brief last year urging the Court to reject the applicability of CAFA to AG actions on the grounds that it would interfere with states' sovereign right to bring parens patriae actions in their own courts and draw cases involving state law away from the state courts best positioned to interpret those laws.
  • Our more in-depth blog post on this decision can be found here.

Patent Troll Roundtable with InsideCounsel and Dickstein Shapiro

  • InsideCounsel and Dickstein Shapiro are co-hosting a roundtable on February 4, 2014 in New York City that will focus on the rise of patent trolls.
  • The issue of patent trolls is an area of mutual concern for State AGs and corporate legal officers, and the roundtable will include panelists from both groups. Vermont AG Bill Sorrell, Nebraska AG Jon Bruning, and North Carolina AG Roy Cooper, will join the panel to discuss their recent efforts to combat harmful business practices involving patent trolls in their states. The general counsels of DuPont, Rackspace, and Walmart US will also participate in the panel and will speak about the impact patent trolls have had on their businesses. Bernie Nash, Practice Leader of Dickstein Shapiro's State Attorneys General Practice, will moderate the panel.
  • Click here for more information about the event.

CHARITIES

Connecticut and Tennessee Attorneys General Investigate Charity that Raised Money for Those Affected by the 2012 Newtown Connecticut School Shooting

  • Connecticut AG George Jepsen and Tennessee AG Robert Cooper are investigating the 26.4.26 Foundation after its co-founder, Ryan Graney, notified AG Cooper that her former partner could not account for $73,000 of the total $103,000 donations.
  • Graney also notified the FBI of the missing donations, and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut has requested that the IRS investigate the charity.
  • The 26.4.26 Foundation was set up for runners to participate in marathons, raise money for each of the 26 miles they ran, and then to dedicate each mile to one of the 26 victims of the 2012 school shooting in Newtown that killed 20 children and 6 educators.
  • The charity held its first marathon in Nashville a week after the shooting with more than 1,000 participants and $30,000 in donations collected.  Another marathon was held in New Hampshire last April and more than 1,400 participants raised about $22,000 in donations.

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Florida Attorney General and the FTC Obtain TRO Against Robocaller

  • Florida AG Pam Bondi and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  have temporarily halted and frozen the assets of 13 defendants allegedly part of an Orlando-based operation that used pre-recorded telephone calls to pitch purportedly "free" medical alert devices to senior citizens by claiming that the devices have been purchased by a relative or friend.
  • The complaint further alleges that the defendants misrepresented the cost for the medical alert systems and falsely stated that they were recommended by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Institute on Aging.
  • AG Bondi alleges that the company received more than $13 million in commissions from thousands of consumers since March 2012.

DATA PRIVACY

Attorneys General Investigating Data Breaches of Nationwide Retailers Neiman Marcus, Target

HEALTHCARE

New York Attorney General Settles with Cigna over Coverage of Nutritional Counseling

  • New York AG Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement with Cigna Corporation relating to an investigation regarding claims for nutritional counseling to treat mental health conditions. The settlement is the first to result from AG Schneiderman's ongoing investigation into New York health insurance companies' compliance with mental health parity laws.
  • The AG alleged that Cigna imposed a cap on visits for nutritional counseling resulting in the denial of hundreds of claims, including many related to eating disorders.
  • Cigna agreed to eliminate its three-visit cap for nutritional counseling for mental health purposes and to pay $33,000 in previous claims it had denied. The company will pay $23,000 as a civil penalty and did not admit or deny any of the allegations.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

New York Attorney General Settles with Alleged Patent Troll

  • New York AG Eric Schneiderman  announced a groundbreaking settlement with MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC for allegedly contacting hundreds of small and medium-sized New York businesses in an effort to strong-arm them into paying MPHJ for patent licenses of dubious value.
  • AG Schneiderman applauded the settlement as establishing guidelines that "will put an end to some of the most abusive tactics by placing the industry on notice that these deceptive practices will not be tolerated in New York."
  • The guidelines require MPHJ to, among other things, reveal its true identity to targets, describe with "reasonable specificity" its claims, and have a good faith basis for claiming infringements. The settlement also requires MPHJ to allow any licensees that received deceptive letters to void their license with it and receive a full refund.

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