Attorney General McKenna announces latest drug company settlement

OLYMPIA – Washington will receive more than $3.2 million in its newest settlement with a drug manufacturer. Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced an agreement with Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc., resolving claims by the federal government and several states regarding the illegal marketing of three drugs.

Some penny auctions use cheap tricks to cheat consumers, state warns

SEATTLE – Penny auction sites lure consumers with cheap prices on brand-name electronics, designer handbags and discounted store gift cards. But an investigation by the Washington Attorney General’s Office shows how some of these sites can fool consumers into paying big bucks on an auction with no winner. These sites use shill bids to drive up prices by one unlucky penny at a time.

Workers face Ethics Act fines for on-the-job shenanigans 

OLYMPIA — A state worker surfing for pornography while on the job, another using state computers exclusively for personal business and a yet another who made off with thousands of dollars in taxpayer-owned equipment are among those facing penalties from the Washington State Executive Ethics Board. Today, the board announced its most recent actions under state ethics laws.

OLYMPIA – The Attorney General’s Office today settled a lawsuit against the Building Industry Association of Washington’s Member Services Corporation (BIAW-MSC) for violating the state’s campaign finance disclosure law.

Nearly 100 sites in Washington sites join DEA’S nationwide effort 

SEATTLE—In January, a split panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling in Farrakhan v. Gregoire, overturning Washington’s felon disenfranchisement law, holding that it violates the federal Voting Rights Act and granting convicted felons in Washington the right to vote from prison and while on community supervision.

DIY legal forms aren’t a substitute for an attorney

SEATTLE – If you’ve watched cable TV, you’ve likely seen celebrity attorney Robert Shapiro tout his company, LegalZoom, as a way to start businesses, patent inventions and create wills. “We put the law on your side,” he says.

But the Washington Attorney General’s Office wants to be sure consumers aren’t misled by LegalZoom’s cost-saving claims.

SEATTLE – A Vancouver man who sells business cards and graphic design services over the Internet will refund customers who never received their orders under an agreement reached this month with the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

Joel McDonald sells graphic design and print services on Web sites including nwcreativeservices.com, designerbizcards.com and blueorbphoto.com.

State Attorney General’s Office partners with Drug Enforcement Administration to promote prescription drug safety

McKenna: “If the state attorneys general don’t defend their states' rights against unconstitutional federal encroachment, who will?”

OLYMPIA— The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) made its second argument before a US District Court judge today, continuing efforts to fend off constitutional challenges to provisions of the nation’s new health care law.