Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

The trial of Washington state’s lawsuit against McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., the three largest distributors of prescription opioids in Washington state, will begin today in King County Superior Court in Seattle.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today he has filed a lawsuit against 19 chicken producers accusing them of a wide-ranging illegal conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize profits. Ferguson’s lawsuit also names an industry data reporting service accused of assisting in the conspiracy.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit today against a Corvallis, Ore.-based company, Global Grid Telecom, and its owner for illegally robocalling Washingtonians with deceptive recorded messages. Ironically, the calls attempted to sell a purported robocall-blocking service.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Kirkland-based timeshare exit company, Reed Hein & Associates LLC, must stop its deceptive timeshare exit practices and pay $2.61 million to Washington. If the company violates the terms of the consent decree, it will be required to pay an additional $19 million — a total judgment of $22 million. Reed Hein also retracted and apologized for statements made in response to the Attorney General’s lawsuit.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that Renton-based collection agency Convergent will pay more than $1.6 million over misleading letters it sent to Washingtonians. The letters contained “settlement offers” to settle debts, including student loans, but failed to disclose that Convergent could not enforce the debt in court. The term “settlement offer” deceptively suggested the possibility of litigation to collect the debt. As a result of the Attorney General’s case, the 1,405 Washingtonians who sent money to Convergent will get back the money they sent to the company, plus interest — a total of nearly $710,000.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson is offering guidance for utility customers who have past due accounts and may be at risk of a utility shutoff. The statewide moratorium on utility disconnections ends on Sept. 30.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today he will appeal Purdue Pharma’s flawed bankruptcy plan. Ferguson asserts that the plan is inadequate, and that a bankruptcy court doesn’t have the authority to prevent attorneys general from enforcing state law, including the decision to pursue the company’s owners, the Sackler family, for their illegal conduct.
BELLINGHAM — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that, as a result of his antitrust consent decree, Bellingham Anesthesia Associates (BAA) must end its illegal dominance of the local health care market and pay $110,000 in costs and fees. BAA used unlawful non-compete clauses and exclusive contracts with area medical providers to take about 90 percent of the market share for physician-administered anesthesia services in Whatcom and Skagit counties. This legally enforceable agreement requires BAA to cease illegally requiring physicians to sign three-year non-compete contracts.
OLYMPIA — After the federal foreclosure moratorium ended on July 31, Attorney General Bob Ferguson is offering guidance and resources to Washington homeowners about the availability of housing counseling services. Ferguson is encouraging homeowners need to act now to learn what post-forbearance options they may have based on the type of loan they have. Housing counselors can assist homeowners to navigate new federal rules and assistance programs that take effect at the end of August to help people keep their homes.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement after two key legal victories on Friday in Washington’s case against opioid distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.

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