On November 7, Virginia Attorney General (AG) Jason Miyares reminded suppliers that the current state of emergency caused by wildfires triggered Virginia’s anti-price gouging statutes, which prohibit businesses from raising prices to “unconscionable” levels during an emergency.
Kentucky
Russell Coleman (R), a Louisville attorney and former federal prosecutor, prevailed over Pamela Stevenson (D), member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, for District 43. Coleman will take over from departing attorney general (AG) Daniel Cameron (R), who was unsuccessful in running for governor against incumbent Andy Beshear (D). Such an outcome suggests that prevailing political headwinds affect AGs differently — despite their overt party affiliations. Coleman will take over the AG post in December.
On October 23, an amended complaint was filed by the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General (AG), alleging that Stone Academy, a nursing school, and its owners, Joseph Bierbaum and Mark Scheinberg, used millions of dollars from nursing student tuition and fees to finance personal luxuries and other businesses operated by Stone Academy’s owners.
Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell has announced a $6.8 million settlement with the operator of an MGM resort and casino known as MGM Springfield for the entity’s alleged violations of the Massachusetts Wage Act, Minimum Wage Law, Overtime Law, and the state’s Earned Sick Time Law.
On October 26, Delaware Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Jennings filed a lawsuit against 14 chemical companies for allegedly contaminating the state’s natural resources with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) traceable to the use and disposal of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a specialized firefighting foam product widely used at airports and military bases. The suit is the result of an investigation that was conducted over a two-year timeframe that involved environmental sampling, forensic analysis, and a review of corporate records.
A bipartisan coalition of 18 state attorneys general (AGs) led by Connecticut AG William Tong has signed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule its 1972 Flood v. Kuhn decision and revoke the immunity from federal and state antitrust laws that the Court has uniquely granted to professional baseball for more than a century.
On October 19, Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost filed a joint motion to enter into a consent order with two Columbus, OH properties, Garrison Southfield Park, LLC, and Olymbec USA LLC, settling claims that Garrison and Olymbec were in violation of Ohio’s hazardous waste pollution control laws. The consent order requires the two property owners to pay a $250,000 civil penalty and properly close the cleaned-up sites.
On October 17, following Washington Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson’s unsuccessful consumer protection action against thrift store chain, Savers Value Village Inc. (Savers), the Washington Superior Court of King County granted Savers’ motion for attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of $4.3 million. This substantial award — which is allowable under the Washington Consumer Protection Act (WA CPA) — represents a substantial recoupment of Savers’ attorneys’ fees spent to defend the almost decade-long litigation.
On October 17, 52 state and territorial attorneys general, in addition to state money transmission regulators, entered into settlements amounting to more than $20 million with ACI Worldwide (ACI), to resolve claims involving a money transmission error that led to the unauthorized withdrawal of $2.3 billion from Nationstar Mortgage (also known as Mr. Cooper) customers.
Rutters, a prominent grocery chain in Pennsylvania with 80 locations statewide, settled a data breach investigation with Attorney General (AG) Michelle Henry’s office by agreeing to pay $1 million and to implement certain injunctive relief. Henry announced the settlement on Wednesday, October 11, following a months-long data breach lasting from 2018 to 2019 that potentially exposed the payment card data of 1.3 million Pennsylvania consumers.