Category Archives: Litigation

This week, Judge Karen Green denied Exxon Mobil’s motion to dismiss claims brought by Massachusetts under its Consumer Protection Act. The complaint alleges that Exxon Mobil both mislead Massachusetts investors in its marketing to them of Exxon Mobil securities and mislead Massachusetts consumers in its marketing of its products to those consumers.  Judge Green rejected Exxon Mobil’s arguments that it was not subject to jurisdiction in Massachusetts with respect to these claims. … More

A recent lawsuit filed by Twitter against Texas AG Ken Paxton claims that an investigation into the company’s internal content moderation policies violates the First Amendment.

On January 13, Paxton issued a civil investigative demand (CID) to Twitter seeking information related to the company’s policies and procedures for content moderation. In addition to requesting all versions of Twitter’s terms of use,… More

Led by California, 23 states, including Massachusetts, have sued the Trump administration challenging new federal regulations that strip the states’ authority to set their own vehicle emissions standards.  On December 3, 2019, the administration moved to dismiss on procedural grounds, arguing that the D.C. District Court was the wrong venue, and that the case should have been brought before the D.C. Circuit for its direct review.… More

Possibly foreshadowing the Supreme Court’s decision on a petition for certiorari we recently chronicled here, last Monday the Court declined to review two separate appeals (Tingle v. Perdue and Mandan v. Perdue) of a substantial cy pres settlement award.  The award is part of a 1999 settlement resolving a class action filed in the District of D.C.… More

When does a charitable contribution pique the interest of state consumer protection watchdogs?  When the contribution comes at the expense of a compensatory payment to consumers.  That is precisely the scenario prompting attorneys general from sixteen states to join in an amicus brief supporting a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court.  At issue is whether the Supreme Court should accept a case that would enable it to provide guidance on when,… More

As most are aware, the Massachusetts Attorney General has won the race to the courthouse and been the first regulator to file suit against Equifax.

• The 28 page complaint is summed up on paragraph 4:Consumers do not choose to give their private information to Equifax, and they do not have any reasonable manner of preventing Equifax from collecting, processing, using, or disclosing it. Equifax largely controls how,…

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In recent decades – and notably in the past eight months – state attorneys general have played a prominent role in making public policy through legal process on the state and national level. While most recent headlines have focused on AG efforts to affect national immigration policy, state AGs continue to wield substantial power over private companies and even whole industries. State AGs have the resources and the authority to change how a company conducts business;… More

State governors and attorneys general typically find themselves on the same side of the law.  Nonetheless, an overwhelming majority of states directly elect their attorneys general. This framework creates a natural opportunity for conflicts to erupt, particularly when officials act to protect what they perceive to be equally legitimate interests.

One such drama is playing out in Rhode Island.  On May 18, 2014,… More

On Wednesday, Judge Ed Kinkeade ordered that Exxon Mobil’s suit against NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey be transferred to the Southern District of New York. The AGs must be breathing sighs of relief this morning.

It’s a very curious order.  It’s 12 pages long, yet contains just one sentence explaining why the case is being transferred:

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is the proper venue for this case because “a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred” in New York City,… More

Once again, a State AG lawsuit has put the brakes on the President’s immigration ban. This one comes from Hawaii. Last week, Hawaii challenged the new ban in district court and moved for a temporary restraining order. On Wednesday, March 15, the court granted the motion.[1]

Hawaii challenged the President’s first ban in early February. That one barred the entry of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries—as well as all refugees,… More