On April 14, 11 state attorneys general reached a $500,000 bipartisan settlement with telehealth company Visibly, Inc. over violations of the states’ consumer protection statutes and health and safety laws. The AGs alleged that Visibly advertised, marketed, promoted, offered for sale, and sold its online vision tests to customers in a manner that violates states’ laws. Specifically, the AGs allege that Visibly:
On April 14, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general from across the country joined forces to protect the rights of military veterans, which if successful would secure full educational benefits potentially worth billions of dollars for about 1.7 million post-9/11-era veterans and counting. Virginia AG Jason Miyares led the coalition of 33 states and the District of Columbia[1] in filing an amici brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging the Court to safeguard veterans’ educational benefits and reaffirm the pro-veteran canon of construction, which traces its roots to the founding of the United States. Troutman Pepper’s State Attorneys General and Appellate + Supreme Court practices played a pivotal role in securing this bipartisan coalition, leveraging the firm’s extensive experience and expertise in handling high-profile legal matters involving state AGs and before the Supreme Court. The veteran is also represented pro bono by Troutman Pepper attorneys Timothy McHugh, Misha Tseytlin, Kevin LeRoy, Abbey Thornhill, and Trey Smith, among others, and David DePippo from Dominion Energy.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has captured the imagination and generated excitement with consumers and businesses, but at the same time, developments in AI have also raised public concerns and spawned regulation that sometimes threatens to outpace the technological innovation we are seeing. In this second in our series on AI, Stephen Piepgrass and colleagues Jim Koenig and Chris Willis discuss the background of AI, including the opportunities and associated risks it presents, as well as the emerging global best practices surrounding the collection, use, and sharing of data and its use in AI.
On April 7, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assembly member Brian Maienschein announced new legislative bill AB 1366, which creates a state Treasury Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund (VCFRF) to benefit victims of consumer fraud. Currently, victims may receive restitution after a judgment. However, if a business collapses and cannot pay restitution, victims can go without any compensation. The VCFRF seeks to remedy this issue.
On April 4, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) announced his GOP bid for governor. A three-term AG since 2013, AG Morrisey secured multimillion-dollar antitrust and consumer protection settlements, while also defending state laws and educating citizens on protecting their identities. AG Morrisey is the first Republican to serve as AG in West Virginia since 1933.
State authorities increasingly embrace role as consumer watchdogs
A version of this post was published in Corporate Compliance Insights on April 5, 2023. © Copyright 2023, Corporate Compliance Insights. Reprinted here with permission.
State attorneys general are increasingly taking offensive positions, bringing lawsuits against companies and executives they accuse of bad conduct. A team of attorneys from Troutman Pepper, led by Clayton Friedman and Trey Smith, explore recent cases and how executives can strengthen the corporate veil.
Join us for the first in a series of episodes covering artificial intelligence (AI). As technology continues to develop, more companies are using AI in their day-to-day business, and with increased use comes increased risk. In this episode, Stephen Piepgrass and colleagues Michael Yaghi and Trey Smith provide an overview of AI, including uses and risks, and the increased focus on AI by various regulators, including state attorneys general, federal agencies, and local governments.
On April 3, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) announced her participation in a 21-state letter, opposing new Department of Energy (DOE) gas stove regulations that the states claimed would prohibit the sale of more than 50% of “all currently available gas stoves.”
Under the sponsorship of Representatives Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Angie Craig (D-MN), congressional lawmakers recently renewed their effort to force the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) hand in regulating cannabidiol (CBD) products. The two proposed bills would require FDA to do what it stated in early 2023 it could not do: regulate CBD and other hemp-derived foods and dietary supplements under existing Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) pathways.
New York Attorney General Letitia James recently reached a $400,000 settlement with Affordable Senior Care of New York LLC (Affordable) for engaging in anticompetitive conduct in the homecare industry. New York-based Affordable acts as a “fiscal intermediary” registered with New York’s Medicaid program’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. Fiscal intermediaries like Affordable handle “timesheet processing, payments to a patient’s caregivers, and other administrative jobs on behalf of patients.” Patients can choose the caregiver of their choice, including a family member or a friend, and naturally, tend to pick the fiscal intermediary that pays a higher hourly wage.