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State Attorney General Generic Casebook
Detailed Roadmap to Core Readings
This class focuses on consumer protection. The first reading is the MA consumer protection statute to get a sense of the scope of these statutes. Using the Uber readings, you should ask about the need for and the role of AG consumer protection today.
The next set of readings examine the AG's pre-suit investigative authority. The case from MN and the article about the TX use of the consumer laws should give you a sense of the breadth of that authority.
The next few readings are examples of single state consumer protection actions, first MN against Accretive, and then WA against Comcast. In light of the national business models involved, you should also ask why these were single state lawsuits and not multistate consumer actions.
Concerning AG multistate cases, we look first at the tobacco litigation to understand the history and dynamics of these cases. The next reading considers a few old settlements involving DirecTV, and you should ask what is the significance of three multistate cases against DirecTV. From the Nolette website, pick a multistate case against some company that interests you and determine how many states were involved, what it was about, and what happened. The Lynch article raises the issue whether there is something wrong about state AGs setting national economic policy through multistate litigation.
The last set of readings look at the increasing role of arbitration in private litigation and its possible impact on AG consumer protection actions.
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