State Attorneys General

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On May 19, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced a consumer settlement with Response Marketing Group LLC and its principals for $15 million and a lifetime ban against selling money-making products and training services nationwide. The settlement — the largest ever for the Utah AG’s consumer protection division — concluded a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Utah AG’s office (representing the Utah Department of Commerce – Division of Consumer Protection (DCP)), alleging violations of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and several Utah statutes. Two Response Marketing celebrity endorsers also agreed to pay $1.7 million in redress cumulatively.

On May 17, District of Colombia Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced the settlement of an investigation into Easy Healthcare Corporation, requiring the company to change its privacy practices involving the ovulation tracking app “Premom” to protect the sensitive reproductive data of consumers. Easy Health agreed to several remedial measures intended to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information to third parties and to pay a $100,000 penalty to the states involved with the investigation.

On May 8, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced settlements with four of the largest guaranteed automobile protection (GAP) administrators — Safe-Guard Products International, Inc., Jim Moran & Associates, Inc., Norman & Co., Inc., and National Auto Care Corporation — operating in Colorado, totaling more than $2.87 million in restitution for 3,550 Colorado vehicle owners. Settlement amounts ranged from $4,036.56 to $1,655,124.78, with each settling entity agreeing to provide refunds to impacted consumers under an assurance of discontinuance agreement. We posted about previous GAP refund settlements here and here.

In March 2023, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) hosted its 2023 Attorney General Symposium and Presidential Summit in Philadelphia. Several State AGs and their staff members attended the meetings. Among the topics discussed, the panels involving artificial intelligence (AI) and organized retail crime (ORC) provided particularly relevant and pressing commentary. The Presidential Summit focused on NAAG President and Ohio AG Dave Yost’s presidential initiative, highlighting the need for the continued veteran support even after their tours of duty end.

On April 28, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a settlement with two Phoenix-area restaurants — Etta Scottsdale LLC and Maple & Ash Scottsdale LLC — over undisclosed add-on charges. AG Mayes claimed that the restaurants charged a 3.5% “employee benefits charge” to walk-in customers not disclosed on either restaurant’s menu, which allegedly violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.

In March 2023, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office issued a letter to Kroger Co., urging the company “to add clear signage to your stores to help consumers understand which eggs, exactly, came from caged chickens.” The letter expressed concerns about Kroger’s confusing and misleading marketing of caged chicken eggs, stemming from a “February 2023 Data for Progress: Cracking Down on Kroger” report.

In his most recent monthly column, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein shared insights on how customers can avoid falling prey to fake online reviews. Although AG Stein acknowledged that online reviews can be useful when deciding which products to buy or services to use, he cautioned that not all reviews are written by real people. In fact, many highly rated products or services consist of fake reviews, which could inaccurately reflect the quality of a product or service and lead to poor purchasing decisions. According to the statement, in 2021 alone, fake online reviews influenced a staggering $152 billion in online spending.