State AG Monitor

State AGs in the News

By Bernard Nash , Divonne Smoyer , and Ann-Marie Luciano on Posted in Employment, Environment, Pharmaceuticals, Securities, State AGs in the News, States v. Federal Government

Employment

Massachusetts Attorney General Settles with Ruby Tuesday

  • Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office recently announced that they had reached a settlement with Ruby Tuesday restaurant to resolve allegations that the chain violated child labor and meal break laws.
  • Under the settlement, Ruby Tuesday will pay $125,000 to resolve the child labor law violation allegations, and $33,000 to resolve the meal break law violations.

Environmental/Global Warming

New Jersey Attorney General Settles with Durand Glass

  • New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa recently announced that his office and the Federal Department of Environmental Quality have reached a settlement with Durand Glass to resolve allegations that Durand Glass violated state and federal air quality laws by failing to meet air quality standards, including nitrogen oxide emissions and particulate emissions at one of its manufacturing plants.
  • The terms of the joint state-federal settlement require Durand to pay a $150,000 civil penalty to the state of New Jersey and a $150,000 civil penalty to the federal government.

Pharmaceuticals

Virginia Attorney General Settles with Abbott Laboratories Regarding the Unlawful Promotion of Depakote

  • Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli recently announced that Abbott Laboratories has reached a $1.5 billion settlement with 49 states and the District of Columbia, pursuant to which Abbott admitted to civil liability and pled guilty to criminal charges.
  • Abbott Laboratories allegedly misbranded Depakote by promoting the drug to control aggression and agitation in elderly dementia patients and to treat schizophrenia when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved neither of those uses.
  • The State of Louisiana is pursuing its own litigation against Abbott Laboratories.

Securities/Brokers

New York Attorney General Probing Credit Suisse Over Mortgage-Backed Securities Packaging

  • New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the U.S. Department of Justice are reported to be investigating Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, relating to allegations regarding its packaging of mortgage-backed securities.
  • As reported last week, AG Schneiderman filed suit against JPMorgan Securities, LLC over similar allegations. AG Scheiderman called the suit filed against JPMorgan a “workable template” for future actions against insurers of residential mortgage-backed securities.

States v. Federal Government

Forty-one State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Reject Bill that would Preempt State Regulation of Payday Lenders

  • Several Attorneys General joined together to urge members of Congress to oppose H.R. 6139, the Consumer Credit Access, Innovation and Modernization Act, which is currently pending in Subcommittee.
  • The Attorneys General argue that the legislation would preempt states’ authority to regulate payday lenders, check cashers, and other short-term installment loan providers.
  • A copy of the letter is available here.