SEATTLE -- Attorney General Christine Gregoire today announced a plan for distributing approximately $37 million the state will receive over the next 20 years from antitrust settlements with two major energy companies, Williams Energy and El Paso Energy.

The settlement with El Paso, announced last June, and the settlement with Williams, reached in November 2002, followed investigations by the attorneys general of Washington, Oregon and California into alleged illegal manipulation of electricity prices during the West Coast energy crisis of 2000-2001.

OLYMPIA -- Attorney General Christine Gregoire announced today that El Paso Corp. will pay Washington state $23 million to resolve state claims that it manipulated market prices for natural gas and abused its position in the natural gas market.

The settlement is between El Paso Corp. and its subsidiaries and affiliates, and the states of Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada, as well as numerous private litigants and other parties.

The total cash settlement is $665 million. It will be paid over 20 years.

OLYMPIA -- Washington and El Paso Corp. today signed an agreement settling the state's claims that the natural gas company manipulated gas prices and abused its market position during the West Coast's 2000-2001 energy crisis.

The settlement, which also was signed by Oregon, California, Nevada and several other public and private parties, follows a memorandum of understanding the parties reached with El Paso in March.

SEATTLE -- One of the nation's largest Internet service providers has agreed to change the way it deals with new customers acquired through its purchase of smaller ISPs, Attorney General Christine Gregoire announced today.

In papers filed in King County Superior Court, Earthlink -- which claims about 5 million customers nationwide -- agreed to the new standards, which were negotiated over the last several months with the Attorney General's High Tech Unit.

OLYMPIA -- The state Democratic Central Committee was assessed a $250,000 civil penalty and will be required to provide yearly audits to the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) under an agreement filed today in Thurston County Superior Court that settles allegations of financial-reporting violations against the central committee.

OLYMPIA -- Washington has been selected to act as the representative of public bondholders in the class action securities fraud lawsuit filed against Enron.

At the request of the the Washington State Investment Board, the Attorney General's Office today filed an amended complaint in U.S. District Court in Houston seeking to recoup $97.5 million lost in Enron bonds.

The lead plaintiff in the suit against the energy trading company is the University of California Board of Regents. The Regents are represented by the law firm Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes and Lerach.

SEATTLE -- Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire today pledged to aggressively pursue drug and vitamin manufacturers who illegally manipulate the price and availability of their products.

Gregoire's remarks came at a press conference in which she discussed her office's efforts against illegally inflated drug prices.
 

SEATTLE -- Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire today announced an $80 million national settlement with two drug manufacturers who conspired to illegally manipulate the price and availability of a popular heart medication.

In the settlement reached between all 50 states and drug manufacturers Aventis (formerly Hoechst Marion Roussel), and Andrx, about $434,000 could go to an estimated 15,000 Washington consumers who paid too much for Cardizem CD - a time release medication used to treat chest pain, high blood pressure and heart disease.

SEATTLE -- Washington joined 21 other states and territories, the District of Columbia and federal regulators today in formally opposing the proposed merger of the country's two main satellite television services.

In papers filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the states and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division argue that allowing the merger of EchoStar, parent company of DishTV, and Hughes Electronics, owner of DirecTV, would result in a company with virtual monopoly control over the satellite television market.

OLYMPIA -- The Attorney General's Office is prepared to ask a federal administrative law judge Monday to allow Washington energy utilities to negotiate refunds for overpriced electricity charged by wholesale power generators and distributors.

High prices for wholesale power are partly to blame for recent dramatic increases in retail power rates charged to companies and consumers by local utilities in Washington and other states.