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Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Nick Brown

Judge allows heart of state's tobacco case to proceed

OLYMPIA - November 19, 1996 - State Attorney General Chris Gregoire is delighted with today's King County Superior Court ruling allowing the majority of the state's lawsuit against the tobacco industry to proceed.

"The heart of our case--to protect children and hold the tobacco industry accountable for decades of public deception about their product--will now go forward," said Gregoire. "Judge Finkle has given us the green light to proceed with an action that will change the unacceptable conduct of this multi-billion dollar industry."

AG's Office 'Pulls Plug' on Illegal Telemarketing of Canadian Lottery

SEATTLE Using a 30-year-old federal law to combat a consumer problem of the 1990's, the Washington State Attorney General's Office has pulled the plug on a telemarketing scam involving several major Canadian lottery ticket sellers.

Long distance telephone service to World Project Management Ltd. and C-W Agencies, LTD, both British Columbia-based telemarketers, has been disconnected after the Attorney General's Office notified telecommuni cations companies that federal statutes require telephone service to be disconnected when lines are used for gambling activities.

AG Announces Settlement with Telemarketing Firm

SEATTLE - December 5, 1996 - Telemark, Inc., a Portland-based telemarketing firm, operating extensively in Washington, agreed today to pay $316,000 in fines and fees to settle a lawsuit for deceiving customers, failing to provide services to clients and falsifying polling results.

Telemark does business with a wide spectrum of political clients including Patrick Buchanan, The Republican National Committee and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon.

Redmond 'Learning Machine' Firm Will Pay $320,000 in Settling Lawsuits


SEATTLE - A Redmond company whose "Learning Machine" allegedly enabled users to learn foreign lan guages overnight, has agreed to pay $320,000 in consumer refunds and legal costs to local, state and federal enforcement agencies.

Dane Spotts, the owner and president of Zygon International, Inc., has signed consent decrees with the attorneys general of Washington, Pennsylvania, Texas and Illinois, the district attorney of Napa County, California, and the Federal Trade Commission.

AG Targets 'Zero Interest/No Interest' Advertising

September 16, 1996 - Washington and 11 other states today announced an agreement with four major retailers that will help clarify for consumers "Zero Interest/No Interest" advertisements.

"Big bold headlines of "Zero % Interest/No Interest" financing are very popular because they attract attention and bring shoppers into stores," said Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire. "But, those ads have the capacity to deceive consumers if they fail to disclose the terms and conditions that apply."

Attorney General's Office Seeks Volunteers at Consumer Center

The Attorney General's Office is seeking volunteers to work with the public in its Kennewick Consumer Re source Center, according to Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

"The Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office offers a unique volunteer opportunity for people interested in consumer protection," said Gregoire. "Volunteers will be able to work directly with con sumers and businesses in attempting to resolve consumer complaints, and may also assist our staff of investiga tors and attorneys in litigation work."

McKenna Announces Energy Crisis Settlement with Enron

SEATTLE -- Attorney General Rob McKenna today announced a $1.52 billion multistate settlement with Enron to resolve some of the claims of market manipulation and price gouging stemming from the energy shortage of 2000-2001.

The states of Washington, California and Oregon, as well as some California utilities and other organizations, are parties to the settlement. The agreement must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Enron bankruptcy court.

Energy Settlement Checks Mailed

SEATTLE -- Checks totaling over $10 million will begin to go out this week to electric utilities in Washington that raised rates during the western states' energy crisis of 2000-2001. Those utilities will in turn issue bill credits or refunds to their commercial and industrial customers in the near future.

The checks result from multi-state antitrust settlements with the Williams Companies, El Paso Corporation and Duke Energy Corporation.

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