State AG Insights

Blog March 07, 2025

Massachusetts AG Issues Broad "Junk Fee" Regulations

On Monday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell finalized new regulations under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 93A, restricting the use of hidden or surprise fees at the end of a transaction that increase a product’s total price beyond its advertised price…

Blog May 16, 2024

State Attorneys General Take Actions on Ghost Guns

While State Attorneys General are limited to enforcing laws within their respective states, their enforcement activities often implicate businesses located elsewhere but whose business activity crosses state lines. One area where we have seen a rising trend in enforcement, particularly among Democratic AGs, is concerning ghost guns…

Blog April 22, 2024

Massachusetts AG Campbell Issues Advisory on Artificial Intelligence

On April 16, Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell issued a legal advisory providing guidance to developers, suppliers, and users of AI on their obligations under state and federal consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data security laws…

Blog March 16, 2020

AGs Crackdown on COVID-19 Related Price Gouging

Attorneys General across the United States are cracking down on individuals and businesses that are selling hand-sanitizer, face masks, disinfectants, and other products at a substantial mark-up, taking advantage of product shortages related to COVID-19. Over the weekend, a New York Times article, which was widely circulated across social media platforms, reported that two Tennessee men, Matt and Noah Colvin…

Blog January 03, 2018

Democratic State AGs Want Greater Power to Supervise Banking, Doubt Federal Efforts

In the last week of December 2017, Democratic senators introduced the “Accountability for Wall Street Executives Act of 2017,” which would amend the National Banking Act to allow state AGs to request a wide variety of information from nationally-chartered banks. As the Supreme Court explained in Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n, L.L.C., 557 U.S. 519 (2009), the National Banking Act distinguishes between “visitorial powers” – such as examination of a bank's accounts or inspection of its……

Blog February 22, 2017

Friend or Foe? State Attorneys General Start to Change Their Tune on Industry Cybersecurity

Should businesses be thought of as victims or bad actors when it comes to data breaches? State attorneys general are embracing the idea that businesses are not necessarily adversaries in the struggle to protect sensitive consumer information. Over the past several years state attorneys general have exerted efforts to both educate businesses as to their data privacy responsibilities, and collaborate with businesses in constructing more robust cybersecurity policies. The spotlight now is……

Blog February 03, 2017

With CFPB's Future in Doubt, State AGs Prepare to Fight

In the first of what are becoming regular clashes between Democratic state attorneys general and the new President, the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia sought to intervene in federal court proceedings to defend the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), which created the……

Blog September 20, 2016

Gun Manufacturers' Lawsuits Challenge the Scope of the AG's Authority Under Massachusetts' Consumer Protection Statute

Petitions filed by Glock, Inc. and Remington Arms Company, LLC in Suffolk Superior Court in recent months will test the validity of a number of legal arguments that may be relied upon to set aside or limit the scope of Attorney General civil investigative demands in the Commonwealth. As we noted in an earlier post, G. L. c. 93A, § 6(1), Massachusetts' unfair and deceptive practices statute…

Blog October 23, 2015

How Can Retailers Avoid Consumer Class Actions and Government Investigations Over State Sales Tax?

Consumer class actions regarding the over-collection of state sales tax continue to be a thorn in the side of retailers. While the amounts of tax collected may be individually small, claims asserted on behalf of a class can expose large retailers to potentially millions of dollars in liability and, in some cases, investigatory action by state attorneys general under state consumer protection acts. The types of tax at issue have included sales tax on computer hardware service contracts…

Blog Editors

Kevin Conroy

Partner

Boston

+1.617.832.1145

kconroy@foleyhoag.com

Harlan Levy

Partner

New York

+1.212.812.0354

hlevy@foleyhoag.com

Andrew London

Partner

Boston

+1.617.832.1737

alondon@foleyhoag.com

Beth Neitzel

Partner

Boston, Washington, DC

+1.202.261.7325

bneitzel@foleyhoag.com

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Foley Hoag’s State Attorney General Investigations lawyers have the experience, the insight and the skill to guide your business through the considerable challenges of an AG investigation or enforcement action.

Our team knows firsthand how the AG and her line assistants approach investigations. Our legal team includes a former Massachusetts Attorney General, a former chief deputy attorney general, a former first assistant attorney general, a former deputy attorney general, a former chief of the business and labor bureau, a former deputy chief of the criminal bureau, and four partners who served as assistant United States attorneys.

Foley Hoag will work closely with you to develop and implement winning strategies to achieve your objectives and successfully resolve the investigation. And if there is no reasonable alternative but to litigate, our lawyers, including American College of Trial Lawyers fellows, have a record of substantial courtroom success. Whatever the path, we will fight to protect the reputation of your business and neutralize any adverse public relations implications arising from the AG action.