State Attorneys General Flex New Muscle with Deceptive Trade Practices Laws
State attorneys general continue to be active in investigating and enforcing state laws regulating commercial activity. Among the most commonly used tools for State AGs are laws prohibiting the use of unfair and deceptive trade practices — known as UDAP laws. In recent years, UDAP enforcement has been more high-profile and politically charged, as State AGs have used their enforcement authority in ways that drive political narratives and enhance their visibility, both within and outside of their respective bases.
State AGs investigating and prosecuting violations of consumer protection laws is nothing new. UDAP laws were designed to be enforced by State AGs, and most offices have active and sophisticated units whose job it is to protect consumers and ensure a fair marketplace for all industry participants.
Since the landmark tobacco settlement in the late 1990s, State AGs have frequently banded together in large, multistate enforcement actions, bringing claims against a wide range of companies from pharmaceutical manufacturers to mortgage lenders, telecommunications companies, student loan financers, and others. Settlements and monetary awards from some of those actions have been considerable, and non-monetary, injunctive remedies have been broad. For example, the recently finalized Opioid settlement totaled over $50 billion and included significant limitations on some marketplace activities.
