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.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions announced a settlement in excess of $250,000 with Integrity Acceptance Corp., affiliated companies, and their owners to resolve allegations that they originated personal loans without the required license, contracted for charges in excess of the maximum allowable rate, misrepresented finance charges, and failed to disclose prepaid finance charges in violation of the Indiana Uniform Consumer Credit Code and Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. As part of the settlement, the entities will forgive $223,685 in loans, pay $33,991 in restitution, and pay $33,000 in civil penalties and costs to the state. The entities and their owners are also enjoined from engaging in similar conduct in the future.
On March 9, New York Attorney General Letisha James filed a complaint against leading cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, alleging violations of the Martin Act, which prevents security sales fraud. AG James claimed that Ethereum — the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization — is a security in the first regulator-initiated court claim.
On March 18, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced the state’s first-ever Civil Rights Division inside the AG’s office, broadly giving the AG investigative authority over state and local agencies to protect New Mexicans from civil rights inequities and injustices. With the passage of Senate Bill 426, New Mexico now joins other states nationwide already leveraging an active civil rights unit to safeguard their citizens’ rights.
On March 15, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with Coldwell Banker for allegedly violating fair housing laws and discriminating against homebuyers of color. According to the settlement, Coldwell must pay $20,000 in penalties and $10,000 to Suffolk County to promote fair house enforcement and compliance. Coldwell also must provide fair housing training to its agents and install a form for discrimination complaints on its website.
On March 15, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recorded the final version of the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) Rules, granting Coloradans rights over their own personal data. Effective July 1, the CPA marks the third state to approve a general state privacy law, the second state to author related rules, and the nation’s first state to regulate automatic decision-making (i.e., profiling) and data protection assessments under a general state privacy law.
In February, Massachusetts Attorney General Joy Campbell announced a $6.5 million settlement with Safe Home Security, its CEO, and affiliated companies to resolve allegations that their practices violated state consumer protection laws by “trapping Massachusetts consumers in long-term auto renewal contracts” and engaging in illegal debt collection practices, among other activities.
On March 7, Fishman Group PC President Marc Fishman pled no contest on behalf of the firm to stealing client assets by filing false proofs of service in collections cases. Previously, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged the Michigan collections law firm and its attorneys with one count of maintaining a criminal enterprise. Per the court order, the Fishman Group must pay nearly $150,000 in full restitution to all improperly garnished debtors.
On March 7, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced a permanent Department of Law Consumer Mediation Program after a yearlong successful pilot program. Considering the department’s high number of complaints — nearly 18,000 national complaints in 2022 — the new program will enable the department to oversee informal negotiations to help resolve more consumer-business disputes, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.
On March 1, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed suit against Energy Acquisitions Group LLC (EAG), seeking compliance with a Special Assistant Attorneys General’s (SPAAG) investigative subpoena concerning deceptive business practices of the alternative retail energy supplier industry (ARES). AG Raoul strives to bar EAG from conducting business in the state of Illinois — at the very least until EAG complies with the subpoena.