Showing posts with label state attorney general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label state attorney general. Show all posts

AG Ferguson successfully challenges Administration’s delay of facility safety rule

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Tesoro fire 2010 Anacortes
Photo by Emma Schwartz, The Center for Public Integrity

Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement after a federal appeals court agreed with Ferguson and 10 other attorneys general that the Trump Administration’s delay of the Chemical Disaster Rule violated the Clean Air Act. The Chemical Disaster Rule updates important safety requirements for large industrial facilities that handle hazardous chemicals.

In its decision, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit used unusually harsh language to criticize EPA. For example, the court wrote that EPA’s reason for delaying the Chemical Disaster Rule “makes a mockery of the statute.” By delaying the rule, the court said, EPA “delayed life-saving protections.”

“Washingtonians have first-hand experience with the types of disasters this rule was designed to prevent,” Ferguson said of his latest victory against the Trump Administration. “I won’t allow the Trump Administration to ignore the law to advance the interests of the oil and chemical industry, at the expense of worker safety.”

Ferguson has now filed 32 lawsuits against the Trump Administration and has not lost a case. Ferguson has 13 legal victories against the Trump Administration. Seven of those cases are finished and cannot be appealed. The Trump Administration has appealed or may appeal the other six, which include lawsuits involving Dreamers, 3D-printed guns, and the transgender military ban. No court to rule on the merits of the Attorney General’s arguments in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration has ruled against the office.

Background
The Chemical Disaster Rule was prompted by a number of high-profile accidents around the nation, including the 2010 Tesoro refinery explosion in Anacortes. That explosion — specifically cited by the Environmental Protection Agency in its development of the new rule — claimed the lives of seven workers.

The Chemical Disaster Rule aims to reduce the threat of chemical releases with new standards and required safety audits, in addition to bolstering emergency preparedness. The rule applies to more than 12,000 facilities nationwide, including refineries, chemical manufacturers and others that use, store or have the potential to release highly hazardous chemicals.

Once a rule is finalized, the Clean Air Act allows for a 90-day delay to reconsider it in response to litigation. Beyond 90 days, the act clearly states that “reconsideration shall not postpone the effectiveness of the rule.”

The Chemical Disaster Rule was finalized on Jan. 13, 2017. On Jan. 26, under the Trump Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency delayed its effective date for 60 days — along with 29 other environmental regulations — shortly after the president took office. The Trump Administration postponed the 30 environmental regulations without providing an opportunity for public comment.

After the initial delay on Jan. 26, the Trump Administration postponed the Chemical Disaster Rule twice more while it reconsidered the rule.

The New York Attorney General's office led a coalition of 11 attorneys general who sued over the EPA's delay of the rule. In addition to Washington, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont also joined the lawsuit.



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AG's lawsuit regarding census question on citizenship allowed to proceed

Sunday, July 29, 2018

1950 census was last to ask citizenship question


Judge denies Administration’s attempt to dismiss AGs’ challenge to Census citizenship question


Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement today, after U.S. District Court Judge Jesse M. Furman rejected the Trump Administration’s attempt to dismiss Ferguson’s multistate lawsuit over the federal government’s decision to include a question about citizenship status in the 2020 U.S. Census.

“This illegal decision by the Trump Administration jeopardizes billions of federal dollars Washington receives every year, and will impact our congressional representation for the next decade,” Ferguson said. “We can’t allow the Administration to avoid responsibility for this blatantly political action. Now, they’ll have to answer for it in court.”

At a hearing on July 3, Judge Furman also granted the states’ request to force the Administration to provide more documents and information surrounding its decision to add the question to the 2020 Census.

Case background
In February, Ferguson joined 18 other Attorneys General and the governor of Colorado in a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross arguing that a question regarding citizenship “would significantly depress participation, causing a population undercount that would disproportionately harm states and cities with large immigrant communities.”

In 2015, Washington received more than $650 million in federal highway money and nearly $460 million in school funding and federal special education grants directly tied to the Census count. That same year, the state received nearly $4 billion under the Medicaid program, some of which could also be in jeopardy if the state’s population is undercounted.

Roughly one in seven Washington residents is an immigrant, and one in eight native-born U.S. citizens in Washington lives with at least one immigrant. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 351,000 people in Washington lived with at least one undocumented family member.

The multistate lawsuit, filed earlier this year in the Southern District of New York, challenges the Administration’s decision to add the question on citizenship to the Census. The City of Seattle also joined the lawsuit.

Assistant Attorney General Laura Clinton and Deputy Solicitor General Peter Gonick are handling the case for Washington.



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Federal judge grants AG Ferguson’s request to expedite family separations suit

Friday, July 20, 2018

Judge cites “chaotic and disorganized nature” of family separations

A federal judge Thursday granted Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s request to expedite his multistate lawsuit regarding the Trump Administration’s family separation policy. The judge also granted Ferguson’s request for weekly status conferences with the court during the period of expedited discovery. She scheduled the first conference for Friday, July 27.

In her ruling granting Ferguson’s request for expedited review, U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman pointed to the “chaotic and disorganized nature of the Government’s practice of separating children from their parents and moving them around the country” as proof that “good cause exists to move swiftly to address the issues they have raised.”

“The Trump Administration’s family separation policy continues to harm thousands of children and parents,” Ferguson said. “This tragedy must be dealt with quickly, in the name of human decency and fundamental American values.”

Judge Pechman also noted in her ruling that while a separate, class-action lawsuit in Southern California produced a preliminary injunction ordering the federal government to reunify families, that case does not address important issues raised in Ferguson’s case — including the Administration’s refusal to accept asylum seekers at the southern border and conditions being attached to family reunification.

“The kind of family separations currently being implemented by the Government are proven to cause immediate and extensive psychological harm to both children and parents; the damage is only worsened with the passage of time,” Judge Pechman wrote. “These are circumstances which demand swift review and response.”

Ferguson has now filed 29 lawsuits against the Trump Administration. Ferguson has nine legal victories thus far and has not lost a case against the Administration.



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State Attorney General filed multistate lawsuit challenging government policy of forced family separations at border

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Federal detention center at SeaTac
Photo by Martha Taylor
Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed his multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border on June 26, 2018.

A total of 16 states and the District of Columbia joined Ferguson’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The states joining Ferguson’s lawsuit include: Massachusetts, California, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

“This case, like all our cases against this Administration, says something important about who we are as a people,” Ferguson said. “We will stand up for the Constitution, basic decency and fundamental American values. My office has not yet lost a lawsuit to the Trump Administration, and we do not intend to lose this one.”

Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee announced the lawsuit at a press conference last week, outside the federal prison in SeaTac, Washington where the federal government was detaining dozens of women after forcibly separating their children from them.

Among other claims, the states’ lawsuit alleges the Administration violated the constitutional due process rights of the parents and children by separating without any finding that the parents pose a threat to the children. The states also argue that the Administration has been violating federal asylum laws by turning away families that show up at ports of entry seeking asylum.

On June 20, President Trump issued an order purporting to end his family separation policy. Following a close review of the order, the Attorney General’s Office found two significant problems. First, the order does nothing to reunify families already torn apart by the Trump Administration’s policy. Second, the order is riddled with so many caveats as to be meaningless.

For example, the order requires appropriations, although the total amount is unknown, as is the timeline for when or if such an appropriation would happen. It also relies on a federal judge approving a plan to indefinitely detain children, a scenario Ferguson described at the press conference as unlikely.

Ferguson has now filed 27 lawsuits against the Trump Administration. Ferguson has nine legal victories thus far and has not lost a case against the Administration.



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AG requests info from residents re impacts of Trump Administration family separation policy

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Detention center photo from U.S.
Customs and Border Patrol
From the Office of the Attorney General

The Office of the Attorney General is requesting information from Washington residents regarding the impacts that they are experiencing — or expect to experience — as a result of the Trump Administration’s family separation policy. 

As has been widely reported, the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a zero-tolerance policy for crossings along the Southwest border. 

As part of this enforcement policy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is detaining immigrants and asylum seekers, and separating parents from their children.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the care and placement of those children, and historically has placed several hundred unaccompanied minors in Washington every year.

We are asking Washington residents to tell us if they or their family members have been affected by this policy or expect to be affected by it.

For example, if a Washington resident is currently housing or will soon be housing a child who has been separated from his or her parents pursuant to this policy, we would like to know.

Those with information about impacts like these that Washingtonians are experiencing as a result of this policy can call 1-844-323-3864 and let us know.


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Toshiba Corporation to pay Washington state $1.3 million for price fixing

Monday, June 11, 2018

5" black and white cathode ray tube
petervis.com
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that Toshiba Corporation, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Japan, will pay $1.3 million as part of the Attorney General’s price-fixing lawsuit against manufacturers of a component used in television and computer screens called cathode ray tube, or CRT.

The lawsuit alleges Toshiba and other CRT manufacturers, including LG, Panasonic, Hitachi, Chungwha, Philips and Samsung, engaged in a price-fixing scheme to drive up the cost of CRTs from 1995 to 2007. During those 12 years, the price-fixing conspiracy caused millions of Washington consumers to be overcharged for their CRT televisions and computer monitors.

The consent decree, which will be filed in King County Superior Court, holds Toshiba accountable for its role in the price-fixing scheme. Ferguson will distribute the bulk of the $1.3 million through a claims process to Washington consumers and state agencies that purchased CRTs during the conspiracy.

“For more than a decade, these foreign manufacturers conspired to artificially inflate their prices,” Ferguson said. “We are returning the money back where it belongs: the pockets of Washingtonians.”

During the scheme, the companies held secret meetings in which they agreed to fix prices. They also agreed to restrict the supply of CRTs in order to artificially inflate prices.

The companies’ scheme allowed them to keep CRT prices high, even as liquid crystal display, or LCD, screens were introduced to the market. Typically, widespread use of a new technology would bring prices down for older technology.

Some of these companies also orchestrated a strikingly similar conspiracy around the same time to drive up prices of LCD screens. In 2016, the Attorney General’s Office recovered $41 million dollars for Washington consumers in its lawsuit over the LCD price-fixing conspiracy.

Until the late 2000s, CRTs were the primary technology for television screens and computer monitors. In 1999, CRT monitors accounted for over 90 percent of the retail market for computer monitors in North America. The technology has largely fallen out of use in recent years, superseded by LCD screens. Toshiba no longer produces CRTs.

The Attorney General will retain a claims administrator to help with the distribution of the funds. Funds will be distributed after all cases are resolved. More details on the claims process will be announced when available.

This payment will bring the total paid so far by CRT manufacturers over their scheme to $3.65 million. So far, four other conspirators have paid a total of $2.35 million to Washington:
  • LG, $1.5 million
  • Panasonic, $450,000
  • Hitachi, $275,000
  • Chunghwa, $125,000
The lawsuit is ongoing against Philips and Samsung, with a trial set for July 2019.

Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Mark and Assistant Attorneys General Justin Wade, Neal Luna and Eric Newman are handling the case.

The Office of the Attorney General's Antitrust Division is responsible for enforcing the antitrust provisions of Washington's Unfair Business Practices-Consumer Protection Act. The division investigates and litigates complaints of anticompetitive conduct and reviews potentially anticompetitive mergers. The division also brings actions in federal court under the federal antitrust laws. It receives no general fund support, funding its own actions through recoveries made in other cases.

The Antitrust Division investigates complaints about potential anti-competitive activity. Information about filing a complaint here.


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Attorney General Ferguson sues company for scamming foreclosed homeowners

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Kirkland- and Portland-based Real Estate Investment Network, LLC (REIN), accusing the company of scamming foreclosed homeowners out of equity in the form of surplus funds from the sale. These surplus funds can amount to tens of thousands of dollars from each homeowner.

“Foreclosure can be a confusing and vulnerable time for homeowners,” Ferguson said. “Surplus funds from a foreclosure sale can be the lifeline a person needs to get back on their feet. I will hold companies accountable for preying on homeowners facing foreclosure.”

In a lawsuit filed yesterday in King County Superior Court, Ferguson alleges that REIN violates the Consumer Protection Act by employing a high-pressure sales pitch that creates a false sense of urgency, misrepresents the content and purpose of documents and the process for recovering surplus funds. The lawsuit further alleges REIN deceives homeowners about the amount of surplus funds available (in at least one case lying to a consumer about the amount available) and the true cost of REIN’s services.

The lawsuit also names Kerry Hemmingsen, Daniel Stack and William Gastineau, who all play key roles in REIN. Hemmingsen has also been the subject of two prior enforcement actions by the Attorney General’s Office, and as a result is already restrained by court order from “making any misrepresentations in the context of any sale, performance of any contract, or performance of a contract."

REIN’s sales tactics include repeated calls and visits to the homeowner, talking to neighbors, and in at least one instance, approaching the nine-year-old child of a foreclosed homeowner as she got off the school bus.

So far, the Attorney General’s Office has identified more than ten Washingtonians victimized by REIN’s practices.

Surplus funds
With the real estate market booming, more and more foreclosure sales bring in more money than is owed on the mortgage. These additional funds are called surplus funds.

Any surplus funds are deposited with the county superior court. Homeowners can recover the surplus funds through a relatively simple process that most consumers can handle themselves or with minimal assistance from an attorney.

REIN approaches foreclosed homeowners soon after the foreclosure sale, before they receive notice that surplus funds are available. REIN tells consumers that surplus funds may be available, but that action must be taken quickly or they may not be able to recover them at all.

REIN’s sales pitch misrepresents the process for recovering surplus funds, telling consumers the process could take up to a year and will be near impossible without their help. REIN then offers to help the consumer recover the funds in exchange for a fee, but presents documentation giving REIN all the rights to the surplus funds. Although REIN returns a percentage of the recovered Surplus Funds to the consumer, REIN’s cut often exceeds 50 percent of the total recovery and sometimes as high as 67 percent.

REIN often omits any information about the amount of surplus funds available, which can exceed $100,000. In one instance, the foreclosure sale led to $134,000 in surplus funds, and under the terms of its contract, REIN would recover around $90,000 for its services. In another case, REIN’s contract would allow it to recover about $88,000 of more than $141,000 in surplus funds.

Ferguson asks the court to prohibit REIN from making misrepresentations to consumers and to impose reasonable costs and fees as well as civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act. While the case is pending, Ferguson also asks the court to restrain REIN from retaining any surplus funds in excess of 5 percent of the total amount recovered, which is the maximum allowed by law.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction is set for May 30.

Consumers who have been contacted by REIN or any company about the recovery of surplus funds are encouraged to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office. If you signed an agreement related to surplus funds from the foreclosure of your home, Northwest Justice Project may be able to help.

If you are struggling with your mortgage or facing foreclosure, find resources on how to avoid scams and find assistance you can trust on the Attorney General’s website.

Assistant Attorneys General Heidi Anderson and Mina Shahin are handling the case.


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Providence, Swedish to pay $1.4M for failing to inform patients about out-of-network lab testing charges

Monday, April 23, 2018

State Atty General
Bob Ferguson
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced at the end of March 2018 that affiliated health care providers, Providence Health and Services and Swedish Health Services, will pay more than $1.4 million as a result of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.

Providence and Swedish failed to disclose use of a pathology lab that was out-of-network for many of their patients, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexpected charges for more than 6,400 Washingtonians who received pathology testing in 2015 and 2016.

Providence’s Western Washington facilities and Swedish facilities exclusively use CellNetix for pathology testing. From January 2015 to February 2016, Premera Blue Cross, a health insurer for many Providence and Swedish patients, pulled CellNetix from its network. 

Despite having advance notice of the change, Swedish and Providence failed to inform their patients that an out-of-network lab would be providing their pathology testing. Consequently, Premera-insured patients received substantially higher medical bills than they expected.

For more than a year, Providence and Swedish did not notify their patients of their use of CellNetix, despite many complaints from patients, including their own employees. In that timeframe, individual Premera patients paid CellNetix between $7 and $7,000 for testing.

The complaint, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges that the companies’ failure to inform their patients about their use of an out-of-network lab violates the Consumer Protection Act.

Patients who paid the CellNetix out-of-network charges will receive a total of $385,101 in restitution, which represents the estimated amount of unexpected out-of-network charges consumers paid beyond what they would have paid for in-network lab testing.

“Patients deserve to know what to expect from their medical bills,” Ferguson said. “Navigating our health system is challenging, and this type of unfair and deceptive conduct just makes things harder for patients.”

As a result of the Attorney General’s investigation, Providence and Swedish entered into a consent decree filed in King County Superior Court. The consent decree requires Providence and Swedish to pay:
  • $385,101 in restitution for the Swedish and Providence patients who paid the out-of-network costs; and
  • $1,053,899 to the Attorney General’s Office to recover the costs of its investigation and legal action and fund consumer protection efforts in Washington.
Patients will receive restitution checks at the address CellNetix has on file for the patient.

The consent decree also requires that if Providence and Swedish use out-of-network labs on an exclusive basis in the future, they must either provide sufficient notice to patients, or maintain contract terms preventing out-of-network labs used on an exclusive basis from billing patients for more than what their bill would have been if the lab was in-network.

Assistant Attorney General Audrey Udashen is handling the case for the Attorney General’s Office.



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Attorney General: Student loan bill of rights to be signed by Governor

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Providing better protections for student loan borrowers

Attorney General Bob Ferguson reports that the Student Loan Bill of Rights, sponsored by his office,  passed the state House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 87 to 11. The bill previously passed the Senate 35 to 13. Now that it has passed the Legislature, it will head to the Governor’s desk for signature.

The Student Loan Bill of Rights will create a dedicated student loan advocate and adopt basic ‘rules of the road’ for student loan servicers.


This doesn’t absolve Washington borrowers of their responsibility to repay their loans. Rather, it simply ensures servicers treat student borrowers fairly.

This will provide the more than 800,000 Washington student loan borrowers with better protections and more information resources to navigate the often-complex process of repaying student loans.



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Attorney General’s Office updates Public Records Act Model Rules

Monday, March 5, 2018

Rule updates reflect changes in law and address public records on personal communications devices

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed updates to the Public Records Act (PRA) Model Rules, reflecting changes in state law and helping the public and agencies navigate changing technology. The amended model rules are effective April 2, 2018.

The model rules provide information about the PRA and some suggested best practices. They are advisory and do not have the force of law, however they can guide governments as they develop their public records rules and procedures. In 2017, the Washington State Legislature amended the PRA to say local public agencies should consult the model rules when establishing PRA ordinances.

In August 2017, the AGO filed proposed amendments to the model rules, which went through a public notice and public comment process concluding with a public hearing in October 2017. The Administrative Procedure Act requires the AGO to file the final model rules by March 5.

Among other things, the 2018 updates to the model rules:

  • Confirm that the public is entitled to request public records stored on personal devices if those records concern agency business;
  • Address relevant court rulings and legislative changes to the PRA including, for example, those concerning copy fees and required records training;
  • Address technology changes such as online records portals used at some agencies, and give examples of how agencies can provide records electronically; and,
  • Significantly reduce the PRA exemptions and judicial review discussions, referring readers to opinions, statutes and to other resources on the law.

The model rules also state that an agency should reasonably organize its records and maintain an index of records. Agencies are encouraged to refer to the extensive guidance published by the Secretary of State for advice regarding records management.

Click here to read the amended model rules (to be codified in chapter 44-14 of the Washington Administrative Code).

The AGO Local Government Public Records Consultation Program provides guidance to local government agencies to adopt best practices for responding to public records requests.



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Updated Veteran & Military Resources Website

Friday, March 2, 2018


As part of the ongoing effort to improve the information and resources available to Washington’s military service members and veterans, the Attorney General's Office recently revamped the military and veteran resources section of its website.

The newly redesigned website includes more information to connect military service members and veterans to available legal services and assistance. In collaboration with partners across the state, the Attorney General’s Office maintains this registry of programs to help make sure the state’s military service members and veterans have easy access to the legal help they need.

The updated website also has a link the Attorney General’s “Military and Veteran Legal Resource Guide,” outlining many of the legal protections and benefits unique to military service members and veterans.

You can visit the newly updated website here



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Attorney General: Ticket sales company to pay $60k for use of ticket bots

Friday, February 9, 2018

Two Massachusetts-based ticket-buying companies will pay Washington state $60,000 for using “ticket bot” software, a violation of Washington’s Ticket Sellers Act — a law Ferguson wrote and championed through the state Legislature in 2015.

Find My Seats LLC and Box Office Pros LLC, both owned by Taylor Kurth, used ticket bots to complete hundreds of transactions in Washington, according to the complaint.

These transactions included tickets to events at major venues in King County, such as the Paramount Theater, CenturyLink Field, Safeco Field and Key Arena. Among the affected events were BeyoncĂ©’s Formation World Tour, Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour, an Adele concert and Mariners games.

After using bots to purchase a large number of tickets, Kurth resold tickets for $30 to $200 more per ticket than the original sale price.

“When bots scoop up the good seats in a matter of minutes, they force actual customers to buy their tickets at inflated prices,” Ferguson said. “That’s not fair to consumers or the venues hosting them.”

Ticket bots are computer programs used to quickly buy large quantities of tickets online to popular concerts and sporting events. The software helps scalpers skirt website security measures meant to limit the number of tickets one person can purchase. Bots target the most desirable seats, allowing scalpers to resell them minutes later at inflated prices.

In 2015, Ferguson proposed legislation prohibiting the use and sale of ticket bots in Washington state. The Legislature passed the bill, and this case marks the first enforcement action of the law, known as the Ticket Sellers Act.

Former Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, who now serves on the King County Council, and then-Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, who now represents the 24th district in the Senate, sponsored the legislation.

Kurth’s companies buy tickets to resell them on third-party websites such as StubHub.

In a consent decree filed in King County Superior Court, Kurth agreed to the following:
  • Pay $60,000 in costs and fees;
  • Cease all actions that violate Washington’s Ticket Sellers Act; and
  • Cease use of any software intended to evade a ticket-selling website’s security measures in Washington.

Assistant Attorney General Andrea Alegrett led the case for Washington.


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Attorney General: Check your Comcast bill for unwanted fees

Sunday, February 4, 2018

File a complaint with the Attorney Generall
Photo courtesy AG's office
Dozens of Comcast customers filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office in the last six weeks, claiming that the company’s Service Protection Plan (SPP) appeared on their bill when they did not consent to paying for the service.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced in December new evidence obtained as part of his ongoing lawsuit against the cable and internet giant revealed that Comcast may have signed up more than half of all SPP subscribers without their consent.

Since Ferguson filed an amended lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Office received more than 100 complaints from Comcast customers, including 74 about the SPP. Of those, more than 50 claim Comcast added the plan to their account without their consent.

Comcast claimed the SPP is a “comprehensive” plan covering the cost of all service calls, including those related to inside wiring. Ferguson’s lawsuit alleges Comcast failed to appropriately disclose that the plan does not cover repairs to any “wall-fished” wiring — wiring inside a wall — which constitutes the vast majority of wiring inside homes. The SPP is currently a $5.99 monthly fee.

Consumer complaints received by the office are not necessarily evidence of wrongdoing. However, consumer complaints help inform the Attorney General’s Office about potential unfair or deceptive business practices and allow the office understand the scope of unlawful practices.

Check your bill — if you believe you're being charged for the SPP without your consent, file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.



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Washington state appeals FCC decision on Net Neutrality

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed a petition to appeal the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to rescind net neutrality rules.

The FCC’s decision repealed Obama-era rules that prohibited internet service providers from treating websites differently based on their content. The FCC order also prevents states from being able to protect their consumers from illegal actions taken by internet service providers.

Along with a coalition of 21 other states and the District of Columbia, the Attorney General’s Office filed the petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The petition is the first step by states to attempt to block the FCC’s decision, and it will allow the attorneys general to move forward with the appeal in the future.

“Allowing powerful special interest to act as the internet’s gatekeepers harms consumers, innovation and small businesses,” said Ferguson. “We believe the FCC acted unlawfully when it gutted net neutrality, and I look forward to holding the FCC accountable to the rule of law.”

On December 14, the FCC voted to rescind rules that prevented internet service providers, such as Comcast and Century Link, from discriminating based on content. That same day, Ferguson and Gov. Jay Inslee announced their intent to appeal the decision.

“Protecting net neutrality is as critical as protecting free speech. The FCC’s attack on the open internet is bad for Washingtonians, bad for business and a major step backward. I’m glad that Washington is leading the fight against the FCC’s kowtow to corporate lobbyists and continuing the fight for net neutrality,” said Gov. Jay Inslee.

The attorneys general allege that the FCC decision violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the process for federal agency rulemaking. The states also challenge the decision, stating that it violates the Constitution and the Communications Act of 1934.

Assistant Attorney General Tiffany Lee of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division is lead attorney in the case for Washington.



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Attorney General's Office expands lawsuit against Comcast for deceptive conduct

Friday, December 22, 2017

Attorney General
Bob Ferguson
On Friday, Attorney General Bob Ferguson amended his lawsuit against Comcast to include new evidence revealing even more deceptive conduct than previously alleged.

Ferguson filed a more than one-hundred-million-dollar lawsuit against the cable television and internet giant in King County Superior Court in August of 2016. The suit asserts Comcast misrepresented the scope of its Service Protection Plan (SPP) as part of more than 1.8 million violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

More than half a million Washingtonians subscribed to the SPP since 2011, paying at least $73 million to Comcast for the service plan from 2011 through the end of 2015.

A sample of recorded calls between SPP subscribers and Comcast representatives obtained by the Attorney General’s Office reveal that Comcast may have signed up more than half of all SPP subscribers without their consent. Comcast deceived consumers even when mentioning the SPP, telling them the SPP plan was “free” when they signed up, when in fact, Comcast would automatically charge them every month after the first month.

“This new evidence makes clear that Comcast’s conduct is even more egregious than we first realized,” Ferguson said. “The extent of their deception is shocking, and I will hold them accountable for their treatment of Washington consumers.”

If Washington consumers believe Comcast added the SPP to their account without their consent, they should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by going online and clicking on the “file a complaint” button on the homepage.

More details here



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Ferguson to file legal challenge to Net Neutrality rollback

Friday, December 15, 2017

Photo by Janet Way in Aurora Village

Attorney General Bob Ferguson released the following statement on Thursday's Federal Communications Commission vote to repeal net neutrality.

"Yesterday I sent a letter to the FCC asking them to delay their vote gutting net neutrality. Unfortunately, they did not. 
"Today, I am announcing my intention to file a legal challenge to the FCC’s decision to roll back net neutrality, along with attorneys general across the country.
 "We are 5-0 against the Trump Administration because they often fail to follow the law when taking executive action. There is a strong legal argument that with this action, the federal government violated the Administrative Procedure Act — again.
"We will be filing a petition for review in the coming days. 
"Allowing internet service providers to discriminate based on content undermines a free and open internet. Today’s action will seriously harm consumers, innovation and small businesses. 
"I was proud to stand with Gov. Inslee yesterday when he announced that Washington state will step up to protect consumers in light of this disappointing federal action.  
"I commend him for his leadership and look forward to continuing to work with him to that end."

From The Seattle Times article by Brian Fung:
"Consumers might not feel the effects of the decision right away. But eventually they could begin to see packages and pricing schemes that would steer them toward some content over others, critics of the FCC’s vote argued.
"For example, under the Obama-era rules, Verizon was not allowed to favor Yahoo and AOL, which it owns, by blocking Google or charging the search giant extra fees to connect to customers. Under the new rules, that would be legal, as long as Verizon disclosed it."

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AG’s office wins $3M federal grant to process backlogged sexual assault DNA evidence

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Photo courtesy Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education

It was announced earlier this month that the Attorney General’s Office won a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to inventory, test and help investigate the state’s backlog of sexual assault kits, which provide DNA evidence for sexual assault investigations.

The grant, part of the Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, will fund a team within the Attorney General’s Office dedicated to processing the backlogged sexual assault kits and training law enforcement. The three-year grant will end in September 2020.

“Sexual assault is a devastating crime that affects thousands of Washingtonians,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “These sexual assault survivors deserve justice, and I intend to help them get it.”

A sexual assault kit is a collection of evidence gathered from a victim by a medical professional, usually a specially trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. A crime lab then tests the evidence for DNA that will help law enforcement find a perpetrator. Generally, if a kit remains untested for more than 30 days, it becomes “backlogged.”

In 2015, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs asked local law enforcement agencies throughout Washington to estimate the number of backlogged sexual assault kits in their custody. This informal survey identified approximately 6,000 untested kits statewide. However, many agencies lack the resources needed to investigate these cases.

Using $1.5 million of the grant, the AGO will establish a Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team, including two new investigators who will work solely on the project. During the project’s first six months, these investigators will travel across the state to collect a detailed inventory of backlogged sexual assault kits. Once the inventory is complete, the investigators will help local law enforcement prioritize and submit the kits to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab.

The remaining $1.5 million of the AG’s grant will cover the cost of testing evidence at Washington State Patrol Crime Labs in Seattle, Tacoma, Marysville, Spokane, and Vancouver. These funds will be used to process up to 2,100 kits. Each kit costs about $680 to test, not including the cost of shipping or peer review, which is required for about 35 percent of kits.

Once the backlogged kits are tested, the AGO will support law enforcement as they use the newfound information to reopen cold cases. Throughout the project, the AGO will provide victim-centered trauma training to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and victim advocates.

State lawmakers passed legislation in 2015 and 2016 designed to help survivors of sexual assault find justice and improve the way the state handles sexual assault kits. One of the bills passed in 2015, sponsored by Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, requires the testing of all sexual assault kits after July 2015.

“I commend Attorney General Ferguson for his leadership in obtaining these critical resources, which build on our work to seek justice and provide support for survivors of sexual assault, protect our communities, and hold offenders accountable,” Orwall said.

Assistant Attorney General Katharine Hemann will lead the new Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team, composed of Criminal Justice Division Chief Lana Weinmann, Chief Criminal Investigator Cloyd Steiger and two new investigators.

Victim advocates Antoinette Bonsignore and Erika Teschke assisted in the development of the program.



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AG Ferguson sues opioid manufacturer over state's opioid epidemic

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit September 28, 2017 accusing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma of fueling the opioid epidemic in Washington state, embarking on a massive deceptive marketing campaign and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction, contrary to overwhelming evidence.


This deceptive marketing resulted in the deaths of Washingtonians and devastation to Washington families.

The lawsuit contends Purdue conducted an uncontrolled experiment on the American public without any reliable clinical evidence that opioids are effective at treating chronic pain. To doctors and patients, Purdue consistently downplayed the risks of addiction from long-term use and deceptively represented opioids as safe for treating long-term chronic pain.

Purdue’s deception yielded the company billions of dollars in profit nationwide from its opioid drugs. Ferguson’s lawsuit seeks to force Purdue to forfeit the Washington portion of those profits.

“Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception,” Ferguson said. “It’s time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused.”

According to the Attorney General, Purdue falsely claims that opioids improve long-term function, have a low addiction risk that can be managed or prevented and that increased doses of opioids do not pose significant additional risks to patients.

Read more about the case here



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Checks are in the mail for Washington residents defrauded by LCD manufacturers

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Beginning next week, checks will be in the mail for consumers affected by an elaborate price-fixing conspiracy by LCD manufacturers, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday. A total of $41.1 million is on its way to 24,632 consumers and businesses in all 39 counties.

The recovery is among the largest in the AGO Antitrust Division’s history.

“This conspiracy affected millions of products Washingtonians purchased over a period of eight years,” Ferguson said. 
“This step brings closure and a measure of justice to consumers who were harmed by this scheme. When powerful interests don’t play by the rules, my office will be there to hold them accountable.”

Rather than participate in a multistate case, the Attorney General’s Office chose to pursue an individual case in order to get a better deal for Washington consumers. The recovery in the state’s individual lawsuit may be as much as 30 percent higher than what Washington might have received as part of the multistate settlement.

On average, each consumer will receive about $203. The total varies based on the number and type of items claimed.



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Court rejects motion to dismiss two defendants in Eyman campaign finance case

Friday, July 28, 2017

A court Friday rejected a motion by two defendants in a $2.1 million campaign finance case involving Tim Eyman and for-profit signature gathering firm Citizen Solutions, asking the court to dismiss the case against them.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Thurston County Superior Court Judge James Dixon issued an oral ruling rejecting a motion to dismiss Citizen Solutions and its principal, William Agazarm.

“Mr. Eyman misled the public and contributors who thought they were donating to one initiative, but instead were supporting Mr. Eyman’s personal expenses and a completely different initiative,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. 
“That could not have happened without the participation of Mr. Agazarm and Citizen Solutions. Today’s decision is a victory for transparency, and allows the case to proceed toward trial with all responsible parties.”

Among other allegations, the lawsuit contends Agazarm and Citizen Solutions participated in a scheme to conceal campaign money the company received and then funneled to Eyman. Eyman then used the funds from Citizen Solutions to fund an unrelated initiative campaign, and for his personal living expenses, in violation of state campaign finance law.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton and Assistant Attorney General Jeff Sprung are handling the case.

The Attorney General’s Office enforces the state’s campaign finance disclosure law to ensure free, open and fair elections in Washington state.



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