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State Attorney General Litigation

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We regularly partner with and litigate against State Attorneys General. As political—often elected—actors, State Attorneys General are a unique category of litigant and may view dispute resolution quite differently than private parties or even the federal government. Interacting effectively requires a distinct approach that is attuned to these players’ institutional priorities, interests, and incentives—an imperative that gains urgency as they take an increasingly outsized role on the national stage.

Quinn Emanuel partners Manisha M. Sheth and John Bash co-chair the practice. Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Manisha served as the Executive Deputy Attorney General for the Division of Economic Justice at the Office of the New York Attorney General from 2016 until 2019. In this position, Manisha led 250 attorneys and staff in six affirmative litigation bureaus and supervised all of the Office’s complex commercial investigations and enforcement actions in the areas of antitrust, securities fraud, cybersecurity and data privacy, consumer frauds, and government contracts fraud. John served in the U.S. Department of Justice, first as an Assistant to the Solicitor General and then as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, where he supervised all criminal and civil litigation conducted by the United States in the district. He also served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President. Together, the practice’s nationwide presence and bipartisan relationships offer a platform to engage with the Attorney General of any state.

Our State Attorney General practice draws upon Quinn Emanuel’s deep bench of trial lawyers as the world’s largest firm dedicated to litigation. Our track record positions us to successfully represent clients in virtually any type of dispute or investigation involving one or more State Attorney General—including multi-front proceedings that also involve private-party civil litigation and/or federal-government action.

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Recent Representations

Our representative engagements involving State Attorneys General include:

  • We represent a US-based financial services company in an investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office related to an over-the-counter securities market. We have made multiple substantive presentations to the NJ AG's office as part of our advocacy in this matter.
  • We represent a client in an investigation launched by the NY Attorney General arising out of its payment of wages to seasonal workers. Our client is cooperating with the investigation by producing documents in response to the subpoenas. Quinn Emanuel is advising the client in connection with the investigation and subpoena response.
  • We represent Highmark Residential, LLC, in the In re RealPage Software Litigation multi-district litigation and a related case brought by the DC Attorney General. These cases are one of the first testing a novel theory that the use of pricing algorithmic software is anticompetitive. Discovery in those cases is ongoing.
  • We represent Koch Industries, Inc., Flint Hills Resources LP, and Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend in a climate change lawsuit brought by the State of Minnesota against these entities, Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute.  This lawsuit is one of several brought by state attorneys general against the energy industry, seeking to hold defendants liable under state law for injuries allegedly caused by global climate change, and to reduce the production and sale of fossil fuels.  The State of Minnesota alleges that defendants violated Minnesota’s consumer protection laws, and targets defendants’ alleged speech relating to climate change, a matter of public concern.
  • We represented Walmart against claims of deceptive marketing brought by the Minnesota Attorney General. The Minnesota Attorney general claimed that Walmart engaged in "greenwashing" when it labelled translucent blue and clear trash bags recommended for various recycling programs as "recycling bags." The Attorney General claims that these products were deceptively marketed, since the bags themselves were allegedly not recyclable. The Attorney General sought disgorgement of profits, injunctive relief to permanently ban sales of these products in Minnesota, and statutory penalties for each sale. We secured a favorable settlement early in the litigation, before motions to dismiss were even filed. Under the settlement agreement, Walmart will be permitted to continue selling these products in Minnesota after a brief hiatus, with updated packaging.
  • We represent JBS USA Food Company and JBS USA Food Company Holdings in a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of New York challenging JBS's public commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. The New York AG alleges that JBS's statements misled the public and consumers about its actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impact of its industrial agricultural practices on the environment. Commentators have noted that the lawsuit has "caused a stir far beyond the world of food" because "the suit's impact has the potential to influence the approach all kinds of big businesses take in their advertising about sustainability." We have represented JBS since the lawsuit's inception, including a motion to dismiss that was granted without prejudice.
  • We serve as special assistant attorney generals appointed by the State of Nebraska to pursue unfair competition and deceptive trade practice claims against Change Healthcare, Optum, and UnitedHealth Group for their role in one of the largest and most consequential data breaches in American history which affected hundreds of thousands of Nebraskans.
  • We represent the nation’s largest property preservation company with respect to a July 24, 2024 subpoena issued by the State of Maryland, Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division. The property preservation company provides a range of inspection, maintenance, preservation, property, registration, and repair services for properties in Maryland that are in default and post-foreclosure. This matter is important because the property preservation company's compliance with Maryland's consumer protection law is critical to its ongoing business operations.
  • We represented the University of Tennessee in an NCAA enforcement action and related matters regarding allegations of "major" name, image and likeness ("NIL") violations. The NCAA's enforcement action posed the threat of severe sanctions to the University, up to and including severe recruiting sanctions and post-season competition bans. We advised the University related to the NCAA's investigation and other related matters. Shortly after the news of the NCAA's investigation became public, some months after our engagement, the Attorney General of Tennessee, among others, filed a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the NCAA from enforcing its interim NIL policy, challenging the lawfulness of the NCAA's intended enforcement. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction. The antitrust suit challenges NCAA rules against recruiting inducements, saying they inhibit athletes' ability to cash in on their celebrity and fame. Shortly after the preliminary injunction was granted, the NCAA announced its intention to "pause and not begin investigations involving third-party participation in NIL-related activities." Our representation and strategic involvement in this matter resulted in unprecedented changes to the NCAA's approach to NIL enforcement, which is one of the most transformative developments in collegiate sports.
  • We represented the University of Virginia and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia in an independent investigation arising out of the November 13, 2022, shooting of five university students, and the death of three. The investigation was focused on an assessment of the University's threat assessment program and the investigation the University conducted into the alleged shooter prior to the incident.
  • We represent UPS in responding to document requests from the New York Attorney General's Office and the Massachusetts Attorney General Office regarding UPS's management and payment of its seasonally hired workers. Our role is to oversee document collection, manage the relationship between UPS and the government, and convince the government to cease any further investigation that it may be considering.
  • We represent Gilead Sciences, Inc. in connection with false claims act cases in New Jersey and Texas state court. The New Jersey case, which was brought by a relator on behalf of the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, was dismissed in April 2021, and is presently on appeal. The Texas case, brought by the same relator and also by the Texas Attorney General (which has intervened), is pending in Texas state court.
  • We represented the Colorado Attorney General as Special Assistant Attorney Generals and prosecuted two Aurora Police Department officers for the death of Elijah McClain. In October 2023, the jury convicted Officer Randy Roedema on charges of criminally negligent homicide and third degree assault.
  • We represented a client adverse to the Florida Attorney General in a Florida Supreme Court appeal regarding the legality of a 2024 ballot measure on legalizing recreational marijuana. We prevailed 5-2 in the Florida Supreme Court on the question of whether an initiative to eliminate state-law penalties on recreational marijuana use could appear on the November 2024 ballot. Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re: Adult Personal Use of Marijuana, 384 So.3d 104 (Fla. 2024).
  • We represented HomeAdvisor in an investigation by the FTC and Colorado Attorney General regarding consumer protection violations. The Colorado AG's inquiry was a follow-on to the FTC's investigation, and we negotiated with the Colorado AG's office, which ultimately declined to bring a formal investigation against HomeAdvisor. We eventually settled with the FTC for 1% of their demand and a consent order.
  • We represented UPS in making a presentation to the New York Attorney General and New York City Law Department to propose that UPS partner in their efforts to combat illegal shipments of vape. The New York AG and NYC Law Department were receptive to the presentation; the NYC Law Department subsequently offered to provide information to assist UPS in preventing illegal shipments of vape or tobacco.
  • We represented James D'Amour, a Springfield (MA) Police Department ("SPD") Officer in a criminal case brought by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. D'Amour was one of 15 individuals charged in this sprawling investigation, which garnered media attention in the Boston Globe and elsewhere. D'Amour was charged with perjury, obstruction, and other crimes arising out of an alleged cover-up of an assault committed by a group of off-duty SPD officers. We represented D'Amour in several years of pretrial evidentiary and legal disputes. In the wake of our successful motions, the AG's office dismissed all charges against D'Amour on the eve of his trial in October 2021.
  • We represent a non-profit charitable endeavor that provides free financial education courses to its local community in connection with a Martin Act inquiry by the New York Attorney General. We have negotiated with the New York AG and provided background, documents, and information responsive to their ongoing inquiry.  To date, no formal investigation has been initiated.
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