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.
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.
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.”
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.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recently released a press release, supporting new Senate Bill 23-093 called “Increase Consumer Protections Medical Transactions.” Specifically, the bill would reduce medical debt for Colorado residents and make health care more affordable and accessible, protecting Coloradans from “high interest rates for medical debt and confusing debt collection practices that lead to long-lasting debt and financial instability.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James recently proposed the first-ever rules to strengthen enforcement of the state’s price gouging law, which prohibits companies from exploiting market disruptions to increase their profits on essential goods and services. In response to the influx of pandemic-related price gouging complaints, the 2020-amended law gives the AG rulemaking authority, among other changes.
On March 24, a bipartisan group of 27 state attorneys general sent a letter to Congress, encouraging the passage of “right-to-repair” legislation to establish and secure a competitive marketplace for repairing vehicles, agricultural equipment, and electronics.