Each week, Crowell & Moring's State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. See our State Attorneys General page for more insights. Here are last week's updates.
Multistate
- A coalition of 21 attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Bonta, filed an amicus brief in Pharmaceutical Res. & Manufacturers of Am. v. Stolfi supporting laws that increase drug price transparency. The amicus brief was filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The coalition wrote in support of Oregon's House Bill 4005, which requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to report additional information about new prescription drugs and historical pricing information for existing drugs. Oregon's House Bill 4005 was passed in 2018 to increase pricing transparency and enable investigation of price hikes and rising costs of prescription drugs. The law was challenged by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactures Association (PhRMA), which is a trade association representing drug manufacturers. California has a similar law, Senate Bill 17.
- A coalition of 23 attorneys general, led by Florida Attorney General Moody, sent a letter to the Department of Energy (DOE) regarding its recently released final rule, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Clothes Washers, regulating energy conservation standards for residential clothes washers. 88 Fed. Reg. 13,520. The coalition is concerned with the DOE's lack of formal rulemaking, overreach into the homes of Americans and the economic impact on average Americans.
- A coalition of 7 attorneys general, led by Iowa Attorney General Bird, filed an amicus brief in Lejilex, et al. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, et al. opposing the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) regulation of cryptocurrencies. The coalition argues that the SEC is abusing its power by seeking to regulate cryptocurrency in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act, which bypasses state authority and state consumer-protection laws.
- A coalition of 7 attorneys general, led by Utah Attorney General Reyes and Missouri Attorney General Bailey, filed a complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) challenging the agency's new, final rule. On May 6, 2024, HHS published Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities as a final rule. 89 Fed. Reg. 37,522. The coalition argues that the rule "forces doctors to perform, refer for, or affirm harmful gender-transition procedures" in violation of the Affordable Care Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as principles of freedom of speech.
California
- California Attorney General Bonta announced a $50 million settlement with Vitol, Inc., SK Energy America, Inc., and SK Trading International resolving allegations that the gas trading firms were engaged in anticompetitive behavior to manipulate market prices. The settlement resolves all allegations from the 2020 lawsuit regarding the market disruption after the February 2015 gas refinery explosion in Torrance, California. The settlement agreement allocated $37.5 million to the Cartwright Act claims and $12.5 to civil penalties under California's Unfair Competition Law. In his announcement, Attorney General Bonta highlighted California state law, Senate Bill X1-2, the Gas Price Gouging and Transparency Law, which requires price transparency within the oil industry.
Michigan
- Michigan Attorney General Nessel announced that Nicholas Mui, 22, pled guilty to Conducting a Criminal Enterprise for the theft and sale of account access information. Mr. Mui accessed, stole, and sold consumer access information from mPerks accounts, the loyalty and rewards program offered by Meijer grocery stores. The consumer accounts allow customers to accrue credit points to purchase groceries. Mr. Mui obtained login credentials from a data breach and sold the credentials allowing buyers to use the consumer account's accumulated credit. Mr. Mui forfeited his computers and had approximately $630,000 in cryptocurrency frozen. Meijer reinstated all consumers prior account balances and reported a corporate loss of over $1,000,000.
Ohio
- Ohio Attorney General Yost launched a campaign to combat the use of vaping devices in Ohio, specifically designed to protect young Ohioans from addiction and health risks associated with vaping devices. Attorney General Yost filed complaints against three business alleging unfair or deceptive practices, which are violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. The alleged deceptive business practices include selling illegal vapes, failure to disclose the illegality of the sold products, and misrepresentation of authorization to sell such products. The three businesses are Orrville Tobacco and Vape Shop, Central Tobacco, and Elev8 Smoke Shop, which are located in various cities across Ohio. Attorney General Yost's Office conducted investigations and found that all three businesses were selling illegal vaping products in violation of warning letters sent in April 2024. The complaints seek declaratory judgment, permanent injunctions, and civil penalties of $25,000 for each violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act. The complaints emphasize that the selling of vaping devices is a consumer protection issue, especially due to the harmful chemicals, namely carcinogens, found in the products.
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Attorney General settled a lawsuit against the owners of Split Rock Resort for alleged mistreatment of consumers with timeshares. The initial lawsuit was filed in 2023 and alleged that Split Rock violated the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law based on allegations that the company denied timeshare owners access to the property and charged illegal maintenance and usage fees. The settlement will require Split Rock Investments, LLC and SCH USA, LLC, d/b/a Bel Air Owner's Circle, to fund $250,000 in restitution for eligible consumers, as well as pay $5,000 in civil penalties and $50,000 in fees and costs. The restitution will help refund consumers who paid a resort fee in name, but acting as a usage fee for the recreational facilities where consumers did not use the facilities.
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