State AG News: Energy, Tenant Rights, False Advertising (February 18-25, 2026)

Each week, Crowell & Moring's State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Below are the updates from February 18-25, 2026:

Multistate

• A multistate coalition of 21 state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in American Gas Association v. U.S. Department of Energy, urging the United States Supreme Court to reverse a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld Biden-era Department of Energy efficiency standards that the coalition argues would effectively eliminate non-condensing natural gas furnaces and commercial water heaters from the market by requiring performance thresholds that only condensing appliances can meet. The brief argues that the D.C. Circuit Court failed to independently analyze the Energy Policy and Conservation Act as required under the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

• A multistate coalition of 16 state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia supporting a legal challenge to a new Internal Revenue Service rule that removes the five-percent investment option for qualifying for federal clean energy tax credits for most wind projects and larger solar facilities, while leaving other energy industries untouched. The coalition argues that the rule is unlawful, arbitrary, and harmful to consumers, as limiting new wind and solar energy projects at a time of rapidly rising electricity demand risks tightening supply and driving up utility costs for families and businesses. The states are asking the court to strike down the rule and restore the previous qualifying standards that had been in place for more than a decade.

Arizona

• Arizona Attorney General Mayes filed an appeal in Maricopa County Superior Court challenging the Arizona Corporation Commission's approval of a special energy agreement between Tucson Electric Power and Beale Infrastructure for the Project Blue data center. The appeal argues that a provision in the agreement allowing Tucson Electric Power and Beale to set electricity rate schedules between themselves violates the Arizona Constitution, which grants the Commission exclusive authority to set just and reasonable utility rates. The State is asking the court to vacate the Commission's decision and remand it with instructions to remove the offending provision.

• General Mayes announced a settlement with Reynolds Consumer Products, Inc. and Reynolds Consumer Products LLC, resolving a lawsuit filed in August 2025 alleging that Reynolds violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act by misrepresenting its Hefty-brand "Recycling" bags as recyclable when they are not recyclable in Arizona and could cause otherwise-recyclable material to be diverted to landfills. Under the Consent Judgment, Reynolds is prohibited from selling "recycling" bags unless they are accepted for recycling at a substantial majority of Arizona recycling facilities, and must redesign its packaging nationwide to remove misleading imagery and include an explicit statement that the bags are not recyclable. Reynolds will also pay $30,000 in restitution, $157,000 in a payment to the state, and $25,000 in costs and attorneys' fees.

Michigan

• Attorney General Nessel secured a consent judgment against Hummingbird Construction Co., LLC and its owner, Matthew Ashline, for violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act by accepting deposits for construction projects across St. Clair, Monroe, Eaton, and Washtenaw Counties without initiating the contracted work and failing to return funds despite repeated consumer requests. The judgment requires the dissolution of Hummingbird Construction and prohibits Ashline from selling construction jobs or owning or managing a construction company in Michigan for 10 years. Prior to entry of the judgment, Ashline refunded seven customers more than $150,000 and is further required to make monthly payments of $10,000 to one customer over the next nine months.

Missouri

• Missouri Attorney General Hanaway obtained Medicaid fraud convictions against Medicaid recipient Ronale Rankins and his two personal care attendants, Charlene Otey and Tifiney Lothridge, for submitting 131 false claims totaling $47,845.34 in losses to Missouri Medicaid for personal care services purportedly provided while Rankins was incarcerated. The scheme, carried out under Missouri's Consumer-Directed Personal Care Program, involved Rankins directing his attendants to continue clocking in and out as though services were being provided during his incarceration, with payments then being split between the parties. Otey was sentenced to pay restitution of $6,380.88, single damages of $6,380.88, and a civil penalty of $5,000.00, for a total of $17,761.76, while Rankins and Lothridge both pleaded guilty in 2025.

Ohio

• Attorney General Yost joined the U.S. Department of Justice in filing a federal antitrust lawsuit against OhioHealth in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleging that OhioHealth uses its market dominance to force insurers to include it in all commercial insurance networks, preventing insurers from offering lower-priced health plan options in central Ohio. Brought under the federal Sherman Act and Ohio's Valentine Act, both of which prohibit anticompetitive conduct that harms consumers, the lawsuit alleges that OhioHealth's restrictions limit competition and block the development of budget-conscious insurance plans, leaving employers and families with fewer choices and higher premiums. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to stop OhioHealth's alleged anticompetitive contracting practices.

Texas

• Texas Attorney General Paxton sued a network equipment manufacturer for deceptively marketing its networking devices to Texas consumers while allegedly allowing the Chinese Communist Party to access those devices. The lawsuit, brought under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleges that the company falsely represented the privacy and security capabilities of its products despite the company's ties to China and its obligations under PRC national data laws, which purportedly require Chinese firms to share data with Chinese intelligence services.

• General Paxton sued Anzu Robotics, LLC for allegedly misleading Texas consumers about the origin, data practices, and security risks of its drones, which the lawsuit contends are rebranded products of Chinese drone manufacturer DJI and tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Brought under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the suit alleges that Anzu failed to disclose its relationship with DJI and falsely claimed its drones would not be connected to the CCP, while an investigation found that Anzu drones use DJI hardware, firmware, and software components that retain the same security vulnerabilities. Attorney General Paxton is seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties, and other relief authorized by law.

• General Paxton sued Shein US Services LLC and its affiliates for allegedly selling clothing and toys containing toxic chemicals at levels exceeding safety standards and unlawfully exposing consumers' sensitive personal data to the Chinese Communist Party. Brought under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the lawsuit alleges that Shein engaged in deceptive marketing practices while its platform simultaneously functioned as a conduit for consumer data to be accessed by the Chinese government, with products found to contain hazardous chemicals and heavy metals. Attorney General Paxton is seeking monetary relief for the state, including civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and up to $250,000 per violation when the conduct targeted consumers 65 years of age or older.

Washington, D.C.

• Washington, D.C. Attorney General Schwalb sued real estate lending and investment firm Red Oak Capital Holdings, LLC for illegal lending practices that discriminate against tenants without housing subsidies, in violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act. The lawsuit alleges that Red Oak provided inflated loans to developers on the basis of explicit promises that they would circumvent District rent-control requirements and lease apartments exclusively to tenants with government-provided housing vouchers or other subsidies — effectively shutting out more than 300 rent-controlled apartments across seven buildings in Wards 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 to tenants who do not use housing subsidies. The Attorney General is seeking civil penalties, costs, and fees for Red Oak's violations of District law.

• General Schwalb announced settlements with the owners and managers of two apartment complexes — Benning Courts and Azeeze Bates Apartments — resolving alleged violations of D.C. Housing Code and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act. Following an investigation prompted by tenant complaints, the Attorney General's office found evidence of widespread rodent infestations, mold, water leaks, and broken doors and windows at both properties. Under the settlement agreements, the owners and managers — Gales Place Associates Limited Partnership, Azeeze Bates Limited Partnership, and Horning Management Company LLC — must make additional repairs to remedy all outstanding Department of Buildings infractions within 35 days, conduct quarterly pest control treatments, perform annual property-wide preventative maintenance inspections, address emergency maintenance requests within 24 hours, and submit to annual inspections by the Attorney General's office until 2028.

West Virginia

• Attorney General McCuskey filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. in the Circuit Court of Mason County, alleging that Apple knowingly allowed its iCloud platform to be used as a vehicle for distributing and storing child sexual abuse material while failing to implement industry-standard detection tools used by its peers, in violation of West Virginia consumer protection law. Attorney General McCuskey is seeking statutory and punitive damages, injunctive relief requiring Apple to implement effective detection measures, and equitable remedies mandating safer product design going forward.

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