Dear Friends,
Every day my team and I work to improve the lives of all Washingtonians. We take on big challenges and we never give up. Below are some highlights of our work to uncover the history of clergy sexual abuse, supply a statewide program with free overdose reversal kits, protect Washington’s concertgoers and ensure doctors in the state are held accountable for spreading dangerous COVID misinformation:
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We took legal action against the Seattle Archdiocese after it refused to comply with our office’s investigation into whether the three Washington dioceses of the Catholic Church used charitable funds to cover up allegations of child sex abuse by clergy. Because the Seattle Archdiocese refused to comply with our subpoena, we had to seek a court order to move the investigation forward. Our office has authority under the Charitable Trusts Act to investigate an organization’s use of charitable funds. Individuals with information about clergy abuse they would like to share with our office can provide their contact information by phone at 833-952-6277 or by submitting a form here: https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ClergyAbuseInformationForm.aspx. We will return these messages. Detailed information is not necessary.
You can watch the press conference announcing our investigation here: https://www.facebook.com/WAStateAttorneyGeneral/videos/1227255481591236
- As a result of our lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals over its role fueling the opioid epidemic, the first of more than 54,000 naloxone overdose reversal kits started arriving in Washington in May. The kits are available for free to Washingtonians. As part of the $90.7 million resolution, Teva will send the kits in quarterly shipments over the next two years. The first shipment of 6,765 kits arrived on May 13. Each kit contains two small nasal spray devices that rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. The Department of Health will distribute the kits through a statewide mail-order naloxone program, which allows individuals to order a free kit with no shipping costs. The program helps make naloxone available in rural and remote regions of the state, where access to naloxone is limited, or for individuals who have privacy concerns about how to access naloxone in their community. More information about the free mail-order program is available here: http://phra.org/naloxone
- We partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice and a bipartisan group of 29 other attorneys general in an antitrust lawsuit aimed at breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s monopoly over the live entertainment industry. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asserts the companies used their dominance over concert tickets to undermine competition for the ticketing of live events, driving up costs for concertgoers. Because the companies developed such a stranglehold over the live entertainment industry, the lawsuit seeks to unwind their merger and separate the companies. Live Nation manages the Gorge Amphitheater in George, RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater in Ridgefield and White River Amphitheater in Auburn. You can learn more about the lawsuit here: https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-feds-seek-breakup-ticketmaster-live-nation-ticket-monopoly
- A federal judge agreed with our office and dismissed a lawsuit filed by former basketball player John Stockton, two doctors accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation and an organization founded by presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, attempted to stop the Washington Medical Commission from enforcement actions against the physicians. The commission charged two doctors with unprofessional conduct for spreading COVID misinformation in newspaper opinion columns and online. The commission has not sanctioned any of the physicians, as its proceedings are ongoing. You can read more about the case’s dismissal here: https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/federal-judge-dismisses-john-stockton-kennedy-jr-lawsuit-against-ag-ferguson
We will continue to seek justice and protect the health and safety of all the people in Washington state.
Thanks for following the work of my office.
Sincerely,
Bob Ferguson
Washington State Attorney General
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