Troutman Pepper Locke State Attorneys General Team

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The U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) proposed an amendment to the General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) aimed at reducing single-use plastic packaging. Specifically, the proposed amendment allows suppliers to voluntarily supply the government with “single use plastic free” (SUP-free) packaging and, in return, the suppliers will be eligible for a SUP-free filter icon on the GSA website that allows purchasers within the government to easily identify SUP-free products. Eleven attorneys general (AGs) from Massachusetts, California, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. signed a letter in support of the new rule. They identified some proposed modifications, arguing that the GSA’s proposed amendment does not go far enough to combat what the AGs deem to be a “plastic waste crisis.”

In February 2018, Ohio become the first state to sue DuPont alleging that the company had released perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the environment.[1] Since then, multiple state attorneys general (AG) have continued to weigh in on DuPont’s alleged role in contaminating the environment with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including recent lawsuits filed by Tennessee[2] and North Carolina.

On February 14, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell filed a civil lawsuit against Holtec Decommissioning International LLC and its affiliate Holtec Pilgrim LLC (Holtec), alleging the improper handling of asbestos-containing demolition debris in violation of the Commonwealth’s Public Health Law. The Commonwealth is seeking civil penalties of $25,000 for each day of violation, as well as a permanent injunction that would require Holtec to comply with the state’s Air Act and the air regulations that are promulgated under the state’s Public Health Law. Shortly after the filing, the parties announced that they are working toward a settlement that could require Holtec to pay somewhere between $200,000 to $500,000.

On January 31, Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti, joined by Virginia AG Jason Miyares, filed suit against the NCAA in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee for alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act over the association’s restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The lawsuit was filed just one day after the announcement that the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) is investigating the University of Tennessee for NIL violations.

On February 6, a bipartisan group of 51 attorney general (AG) sent a warning letter to Life Corporation (Life Corp.) for allegedly engaging in an illegal robocall campaign that they claim was intended to deter New Hampshire voters from participating in the primary on January 23. The calls purportedly used artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate the voice of President Biden, telling recipients to refrain from voting in the presidential primary.

On February 7, a coalition of 19 state attorneys general (AG) filed a comment letter supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (Rule). The state AGs echoed the sentiment that the proposed rule would provide much-needed safeguards for consumers against unfair or deceptive fees that are a “prevalent problem in many different types of industries.”

On February 8, New York attorney general (AG) Letisha James announced a $77 million judgment with three merchant cash advance (MCA) companies, Richmond Capital Group, Ram Capital Funding, and Viceroy Capital Funding, and their principals. AG James sued the companies in 2020, alleging they engaged in exploitive lending practices with small businesses, such as charging high interest rates, undisclosed fees, debiting excess amounts, and fraudulently securing judgments against them.