On February 6, a bipartisan group of 51 attorney general (AG) sent a warning letter to Life Corporation (Life Corp.) for allegedly engaging in an illegal robocall campaign that they claim was intended to deter New Hampshire voters from participating in the primary on January 23. The calls purportedly used artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate the voice of President Biden, telling recipients to refrain from voting in the presidential primary.Continue Reading Bipartisan Group of AGs Issue Warning Letter Over Alleged Election Robocalling

On February 7, a coalition of 19 state attorneys general (AG) filed a comment letter supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (Rule). The state AGs echoed the sentiment that the proposed rule would provide much-needed safeguards for consumers against unfair or deceptive fees that are a “prevalent problem in many different types of industries.”Continue Reading State AGs Support FTC’s Proposed Rule Prohibiting “Junk” Fees

On February 8, New York attorney general (AG) Letisha James announced a $77 million judgment with three merchant cash advance (MCA) companies, Richmond Capital Group, Ram Capital Funding, and Viceroy Capital Funding, and their principals. AG James sued the companies in 2020, alleging they engaged in exploitive lending practices with small businesses, such as charging high interest rates, undisclosed fees, debiting excess amounts, and fraudulently securing judgments against them.Continue Reading New York AG Secures $77M Judgment With Merchant Cash Advance Companies

On January 26, a Massachusetts Superior Court rejected an effort by the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) to vacate an order that cast doubt on the constitutionality of a new Massachusetts liquor law.Continue Reading Massachusetts Court Rejects State AG’s Effort to Vacate Order in Settled Liquor Law Dispute

In the latest episode of Regulatory Oversight, Troutman Pepper Partner Judy Jagdmann is joined by Oregon Attorney General (AG) Ellen Rosenblum to discuss her journey from being a federal prosecutor and state trial and appellate judge, to becoming Oregon’s AG.Continue Reading From the Courtroom to the Capitol: Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum Talks Leadership, Advocacy, and the Journey to Public Service

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) most recent regulatory agenda, it plans to finalize a proposed rule that would make significant changes to requirements applicable to educational institutions that enroll students utilizing VA benefits, such as under the extremely popular Chapter 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill and Chapter 31 Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) programs, both of which pay tuition and fees directly to schools. The new regulations, which are expected to become final in April and go into effect shortly thereafter, will implement the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018. As the Congressional Research Service explained, that bill made “a number of changes to educational benefits.”Continue Reading VA to Revise Educational Institution Requirements Under the 2018 Veterans Benefits and Transition Act

Over the past decade, at least five states and hundreds of localities have passed, or attempted to pass, laws banning flavored tobacco products. To date, litigants have brought many challenges to these laws, often arguing that such bans are preempted under the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). This argument, however, has largely proven unsuccessful — a trend that continued in January when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s challenge to California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products.Continue Reading US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to California’s Flavor Ban

As we previously reported, the Treasury Department released a 2022 report on Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits (the Competition Report) recommending, in part, that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) revive or initiate rulemaking to consider labeling requirements that include alcohol and nutritional information per-serving, major food allergens, and/or ingredients. TTB has announced that it will hold two virtual listening sessions on this topic on February 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., EST; and February 29, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., EST. The deadline to register to virtually attend either session is February 27, 12 p.m., EST,. Interested parties may register for either session here. These listening sessions present a unique opportunity to provide input to TTB at the early stages of a rulemaking that could potentially affect labels across the industry.Continue Reading TTB Seeking Public Input on Potential Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Changes

We recently reported that several state legislatures are considering bills to establish vapor product directories this year — namely Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and Virginia. Throughout January and early February, similar bills have been introduced in Arizona, Hawaii, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Additionally, a bill in Oklahoma would update the state’s existing directory framework to be consistent with the proposals of these recent bills. The directories would allow states to prohibit the sale of vapor products that are not authorized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) or subject to a pending premarket application. Like the proposals discussed in our previous coverage, these bills are intended to reduce the proliferation of illicit vapor products.Continue Reading More States Consider Establishing Vapor Product Directories

Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Michelle Henry reached a settlement with attorney Erik Helbing and his business, Helbing Law Group, LLC, resolving allegations of deceptive advertising practices and failure to effectively deliver on promised debt settlement services. The law firm advertised that it could facilitate significant reduction in client debts through negotiation or litigation processes using licensed attorneys. According to Henry, these advertisements were false or misleading.Continue Reading Pennsylvania AG Settles With Debt Services Law Firm