Other LanguagesAttorney General Bob Ferguson today filed a consumer protection lawsuit against e-cigarette company JUUL. Ferguson’s lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, asserts JUUL violated the state Consumer Protection Act by designing and marketing its products to appeal to underage consumers and deceiving consumers about the addictiveness of its product. JUUL’s unlawful conduct fueled a pervasive and staggering rise in e-cigarette use and nicotine addiction among youth.
A King County Superior Court judge today ordered Vancouver, Wash.-based air duct cleaning companies and their owner to pay civil penalties of $10 million in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit over deceptive advertisements and robocalls. By law these penalties will be directed to the state’s general fund. The companies made over 13 million robocalls within Washington state from 2017 to 2019, including calling more than 500 individual Washington consumers over 100 times.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that automaker Honda must change its corporate practices as a result of an investigation by state attorneys general into Honda’s use of defective, dangerous airbags made by Takata, a now-defunct manufacturer that worked closely with Honda.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced he is leading a coalition of states that will file a lawsuit today in federal court in Washington state challenging drastic operational changes at the U.S. Postal Service that threaten critical mail delivery and could undermine the national election in November. The Postal Service cuts, including eliminating staff overtime, halting outgoing mail processing at state distribution centers and removing critical mail sorting equipment, threaten the timely delivery of mail to millions of Americans who rely on the Postal Service for everything from medical prescriptions to ballots.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against an Orange County-based company that marketed vapor products containing nicotine in a way that appealed to youth, then sold the products without verifying the buyers’ ages. The company, E-Juice Vapors, failed to comply with numerous age verification requirements intended to prevent youth from purchasing vapor products online. Moreover, E-Juice Vapors never received a license from the state to deliver vapor products into Washington as required by Washington law.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that, as a result of his office’s multiyear investigation into online travel agency Rocketmiles, Washington consumers can now file claims to receive their share of a $300,000 recovery. From May 1, 2015 to December 5, 2016, the company charged hidden fees on thousands of transactions in Washington, even though they told consumers they charged the same rate as booking directly with a hotel or a competing travel agency.
In the latest action of his office’s Honest Fees Initiative, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that Frontier Communications Northwest will pay $900,000 to the State of Washington. The payment resolves an Attorney General’s Office investigation that Frontier Northwest did not adequately disclose fees when advertising and selling its products, and misled subscribers about internet speeds it could provide. Frontier’s unlawful deception impacted thousands of Washington consumers.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the national debt collection corporation Convergent Outsourcing for pushing consumers into “settlements” to resolve old debts that were past the statute of limitations for a collection lawsuit. These “settlement” offers created a deceptive impression that Convergent could sue consumers when it could not, and implied Convergent was prepared to sue consumers if they did not pay.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that California-based technology company Super Basic LLC and its parent company Maple Media LLC will pay $100,000 to resolve an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office. Ferguson’s investigation found the companies’ social media platform, “We Heart It,” allowed children to create accounts, collected their personal information and allowed third-party advertisers to collect data from them, all without legally required parental consent.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that, as a result of his lawsuit, the maker of a so-called COVID-19 “vaccine” will repay his victims and is permanently barred from marketing vaccines without testing and evidence. The legally binding agreement comes just over a week after Ferguson filed a lawsuit and nearly two months after he sent Stine a “cease and desist” letter to stop marketing the “vaccine.”