Attorney General’s lawsuits result in more than $2.6 billion for Washington in the last decade

The Attorney General’s Office won $550.4 million for Washington during the first half of 2024

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that his office’s civil law enforcement division won more than $2.6 billion in the last decade as a result of lawsuits and its handling of consumer complaints. That includes nearly $800 million for Washingtonians in the form of direct payments, debt relief and consumer credits. The office won another $1.8 billion for increased government and non-profit services, including $1.1 billion to combat the fentanyl epidemic.

“My office takes on powerful special interests that refuse to play by the rules and puts money back in the pockets of Washingtonians,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, we’ve provided well over a billion dollars to state, local and tribal governments to fight the opioid epidemic, clean up environmental pollution, combat Medicaid fraud and more. As the people’s attorney, I will continue fighting every day for Washingtonians.”

FACTS

• These recoveries stemmed from the Attorney General’s civil law enforcement divisions that file cases on behalf of the people of Washington. These divisions include Consumer Protection, Antitrust, Wing Luke Civil Rights, and Environmental Protection, as well as the civil section of Medicaid Fraud Control and the affirmative section of Complex Litigation. Most of these lawsuits involved enforcement of at least one of the following laws:
  • the Consumer Protection Act;
  • the Washington Law Against Discrimination; and
  • the Medicaid Fraud Control Act.
• The $2.6 billion total does not include civil penalties and other recoveries resulting from lawsuits filed on behalf of state agencies.
• The Attorney General’s affirmative civil law enforcement divisions receive only minimal funding from the Legislature. The vast majority of their work is funded by recoveries in their successful cases.
• In the last decade, these divisions delivered $70 for every dollar they receive from the Legislature. In the last three years, that number has increased to $76 for every dollar of taxpayer funding.
• Recoveries have trended higher in more recent years. See chart below:

• The Attorney General’s civil law enforcement divisions have won more than 800 cases in the past decade.

BREAKDOWN

• $224,080,398 in direct restitution payments — generally in the form of a check — to Washingtonians harmed by illegal conduct. Approximately $70 million of the restitution total comes from large antitrust cases against price-fixing conspiracies that drove up the cost of television and computer screens, tuna products and chicken. The Attorney General’s Office also recently won $36 million in refunds of hospital bills for Washingtonians who were eligible for discounted care that they did not receive.
• $442,521,337 in debt relief, debt forgiveness, and consumer credits. Examples include the Attorney General’s charity care lawsuits against Providence, CHI Franciscan, PeaceHealth and Capital Medical Center,  which garnered $178.3 million in debt relief for more than 100,000 Washington patients across the state. Moreover, as a result of Ferguson’s case against Navient, which was, at the time, the nation’s largest student loan servicer, Washington borrowers ultimately received $45 million in student loan debt forgiveness. Attorney General Ferguson’s Honest Fees Initiative generated millions of dollars in consumer credits for wireless customers who were subject to illegal hidden fees.
• $129,499,155 as a result of informal complaint resolution. These are generally refunds and consumer credits for consumers who filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office. The Office receives approximately 24,000 consumer complaints per year and seeks to resolve these complaints prior to litigation by working directly with the consumer and the business. 2023 represented the most successful year ever for the Attorney General’s complaint resolution program. Washingtonians who believe they are a victim of potentially unfair or deceptive business practices can report it to the Attorney General’s Office by filing a complaint at atg.wa.gov/file-complaint.

• $8,211,198 in cy pres grants to non-profits. This includes grants to health clinics on the Kitsap Peninsula and grants for housing counselors.

• $541,179,709 for local governments, tribal governments, and non-profits. The majority of this total represents local governments’ 50 percent share of the $1.1 billion the Attorney General’s Office recovered to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic. Washingtonians can use this chart to see what their local government will receive as a result of the Attorney General’s litigation to combat the opioid epidemic.

• $944,350,267 for state agencies and the general fund. This total includes all civil penalties assessed by courts, including the $9.1 million civil penalty assessed to Comcast. Highlights also include the $60 million that Attorney General Ferguson directed to the Legislature in 2020 for clean water and salmon restoration projects following his Environmental Protection Division’s successful case against Monsanto over its polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). It also includes the state’s 50 percent share of the $1.1 billion in opioid recoveries, which must be spent to address the opioid and fentanyl crisis.

• $313,380,779 for the Attorney General’s investigations, litigation and complaint resolution processes. The Attorney General’s civil law enforcement work on behalf of the people is generally self-funded. Twelve percent of total recoveries have been used to continue and expand this work. These legal divisions help to ensure a competitive, fair marketplace where businesses that play by the rules can compete and consumers can avoid false and deceptive advertising and other unfair practices that cost them money, including illegal hidden fees, overbilling, discrimination and price-fixing. Nearly every one of the more than 800 legal victories has resulted in important pro-consumer corporate reforms.

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Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Media Contact:

Brionna Aho, Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; Brionna.aho@atg.wa.gov

General contacts: Click here