Each week, Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General team highlights significant actions that State AGs have taken. Here are this week’s updates.

Multistate

  • A coalition of 19 state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of Connecticut’s restrictions on large-capacity magazines and assault weapons in National Association for Gun Rights v. Lamont. The case is pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • A coalition of 27 state attorneys general sent a letter to Meta demanding that Instagram stop monetizing child exploitation content. The letter criticizes the platform for permitting parent-managed minor accounts to profit by providing “pin-up style photos of children” to adult subscribers, and for promoting subscriptions to these child-modeling accounts.
  • A coalition of 16 state attorneys general sent a letter to BlackRock fund directors to express concern over potential conflicts of interest and the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments. The letter requested answers to a series of questions in the wake of BlackRock’s recent announcement that it would substantially scale back involvement in Climate Action 100+.

Arizona

  • Arizona Attorney General Mayes announced a lawsuit against RealPage, Inc. and nine major residential apartment landlords operating in Arizona for conspiring to illegally raise rents for hundreds of thousands of Arizona renters in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. The complaint alleges that, in the last two years, residential rents in Phoenix and Tucson have risen by at least 30% in large part because of this conspiracy that stifled fair competition and essentially established a rental monopoly in the state’s two largest metro areas.

California

  • California Attorney General Bonta announced a settlement with two separate local Bakersfield landlords and their property management company, Clemmer & Company, for multiple violations of the Tenant Protection Act (TPA) and for violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The owners and property manager will collectively pay restitution and penalties totaling $213,000 and must comply with strong injunctive terms. 

Connecticut

  • Attorney General Tong announced the State has secured a $5 million prejudgment remedy against Stone Academy, a defunct for-profit nursing school. Attorney General Tong sued Stone Academy, Paier College of Art, and their owner Joseph Bierbaum last year following the abrupt closure of the school, alleging numerous violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. 

Michigan

  • Michigan Attorney General Nessel announced a lawsuit against Deborah Brenner, the owner and operator of an unpermitted Allegan County concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), J&D Brenner Farms. The suit alleges unlawful, injurious wastewater discharges in violation of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA). This litigation follows years of enforcement efforts dating back to 2016 that have not resulted in meaningful reductions in the ongoing watershed pollution by J&D Brenner Farms.
  • Michigan Attorney General Nessel announced that the Michigan Public Service Commission issued a final order in Consumers Energy Company’s most recent rate case, approving an electric rate that is less than half of what the company requested. Attorney General Nessel had intervened in the case on behalf of consumers, arguing the requested increase was too great.

Minnesota

  • Minnesota Attorney General Ellison announced he has reached a five-year oversight agreement with Wisconsin-based Aspirus Health and St. Luke’s Hospital of Duluth, requiring Aspirus to provide to the Attorney General annual reports on the commitments the systems have made in their merger. These reports will help the Attorney General’s Office determine whether the transaction continues to be compliant with charities and antitrust laws and in the public interest.

New York

  • New York Attorney General James announced a lawsuit against JBS USA Food Company and JBS USA Food Company Holdings (JBS USA) for misleading the public about its environmental impact. JBS USA has claimed that it will achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, despite documented plans to increase production, and therefore increase its carbon footprint. JBS USA is the American subsidiary of the world’s largest producer of beef products.
  • New York Attorney General James announced a settlement for more than $650,000 with debt collection law firm, Tromberg, Morris, & Poulin, LLC (TMP), and its subsidiary, Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C. (SEA). TMP and SEA regularly sued tenants on behalf of landlords in New York City Civil Court on issues that were already resolved in Housing Court. TMP also illegally continued to pursue consumers for debts that were already paid or partially paid, sometimes garnishing wages for judgments that were completed. TMP must pay $595,600 in restitution to more than 4,000 affected New Yorkers, plus $60,000 in penalties, and must stop its frivolous and predatory behavior.
  • New York Attorney General James announced a lawsuit against a major operation of over 30 companies and individuals for exploiting small businesses through fraudulent loans at inflated interest rates disguised as merchant cash advances. The suit names companies and individuals who negotiated and serviced the illegal loans. The state seeks at least $1.4 billion in interest and fraudulent fees collected from small businesses, and a court order for the companies to stop their illegal activities.

North Carolina

  • North Carolina Attorney General Stein announced a lawsuit against Canary General Contracting and Design for deceiving Charlotte homeowners and an investigation into real estate software company RealPage over concerns about anticompetitive conduct to raise the cost of rental housing. Attorney General Stein’s investigation is looking into whether RealPage uses non-public and sensitive competitive data as part of its modeling in violation of antitrust law.

Ohio

  • Ohio Attorney General Yost announced a lawsuit against a used-car dealership and its owner for alleged violations of state consumer protection laws, including failure to deliver vehicle titles to dozens of customers. Defendants are accused of violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title Act.
  • Ohio Attorney General Yost announced six consumer-protection lawsuits against contractor businesses accused of violating the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act by deceiving Ohioans who wanted to make home improvements. The state seeks reimbursement to consumers, civil penalties, and court costs. The state also requests that all defendants be prohibited from engaging in any consumer transactions in Ohio until their judgments are paid.

Washington

  • Washington Attorney General Ferguson announced that the Legislature had approved his proposal to form an Artificial Intelligence Task Force in the Attorney General’s Office. The task force will convene technology experts, industry representatives, labor organizations, civil liberty groups and other stakeholders to discuss AI benefits and risks and make recommendations to the Legislature.
  • Washington Attorney General Ferguson announced the passage of House Bill 2072, increasing the maximum civil penalty for price-fixing, collusion, and other antitrust violations to three times the unlawful gains or loss avoided. Attorney General Ferguson had requested the bill while litigating an ongoing lawsuit targeting an alleged price-fixing conspiracy in the broiler chicken industry.