Other LanguagesOLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed an antitrust lawsuit against technology giant Google for using anticompetitive practices to insulate its app distribution service, Google Play Store, from competition — forcing Android app developers to raise app prices for users in order to pay Google’s exorbitant fees. These practices have targeted all levels of the smartphone ecosystem, including device manufacturers, network operators and app developers.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the state’s lawsuit against a Richland florist for violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) by refusing to serve a same-sex couple seeking to buy wedding flowers in 2013:
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced a legally binding agreement with a California-based company that was caught in a sweep of online vaping retailers. The company, E-Juice Vapor Inc., will pay $375,000 to resolve a lawsuit Ferguson brought in August 2020 after its initial refusal to cooperate with the investigation.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement today after U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson issued a summary judgment in Ferguson’s federal lawsuit against two gold mining companies over years of water pollution stemming from the Buckhorn Mountain gold mine. Judge Peterson dismissed the companies’ main defenses, writing in the ruling that there is “no support” for their claims that the Attorney General’s Office cannot enforce all of the mine’s Clean Water Act permit.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today Google will pay $423,659.76 to Washington’s Public Disclosure Transparency Account for violating the state’s campaign finance disclosure law, which Washingtonians adopted by initiative in 1972.
In the wake of today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Attorney General Bob Ferguson offered the following statement, and a fact sheet detailing the ACA’s impact on Washington state. Washington state was part of the coalition defending the ACA, because the Trump Administration refused.
SPOKANE — The Attorney General’s Office filed criminal charges against a Spokane assisted living facility worker related to the 2019 death of a resident. The resident died several hours after drinking a large quantity of vinegar.
The Attorney General’s Office and Washington’s Lottery are urging Washingtonians to be wary of potential scams associated with the state’s “Shot of a Lifetime” lottery for vaccinated Washingtonians.
OLYMPIA — In light of his office’s investigation into an addiction treatment marketing company, Attorney General Bob Ferguson is urging Washingtonians to be aware of marketing websites that pose as neutral sources of information about addiction treatment facilities.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that Denver-based collection agency Machol & Johannes must return approximately $475,000 to as many as 5,000 Washington consumers, and forgive up to $250,000 in fees and costs for hundreds more to resolve Ferguson’s lawsuit over the company’s unlawful debt collection practices. In addition, the debt collector will pay $414,000 to the Attorney General’s Office to cover the costs of the investigation.