News Releases

Protects businesses from bad faith predatory claims of patent infringement; gives Attorney General’s Office legal enforcement authority OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has proposed the Patent Troll Prevention Act to protect the rights of legitimate patent holders and crack down on deceptive and predatory patent troll practices. “Patent trolls target and swamp small businesses with deceptive demand letters,” said Ferguson. “The Patent Troll Prevention Act will protect small businesses and provide my office with enforcement authority to hold fraudulent trolls accountable.”

OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has proposed bipartisan legislation that would prohibit businesses that have repeatedly or willfully violated the state’s wage payment laws during the past three years from doing business with Washington state.

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced the filing of an amicus curiae — or “friend of the court” — brief in support of the Obama Administration’s recent executive action on immigration policy. The brief was filed in Texas v. United States, a legal challenge by Texas and other states to the President’s legal authority. A preliminary hearing is set in that case for Thursday, January 15.  The Washington State Attorney’s General Office authored the brief, which was joined by the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

OLYMPIA — Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom today agreed with the Attorney General’s Office that the Attorney General has the authority to bring a consumer protection lawsuit against a Richland flower shop and its owner. In addition, Judge Ekstrom ruled that the shop owner can be held personally liable for violating the Consumer Protection Act.

OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has introduced bipartisan legislation that will strengthen Washington’s data breach notification law to help Washingtonians protect their personal information.

MONTESANO — Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a petition in Grays Harbor County Superior Court seeking to civilly commit an Aberdeen-area sex offender and prevent his release into the community.

TACOMA — For the fifth time, a superior court judge today agreed with an opinion issued by the Attorney General’s Office earlier this year, concluding that nothing in Initiative 502 overrides local governments’ authority to regulate or ban marijuana businesses. This allows I-502 to continue to be implemented. Every court to consider this issue has now agreed with the Attorney General’s opinion.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a $90 million nationwide agreement with T-Mobile, resolving allegations the company placed unauthorized third-party service charges on subscribers’ telephone bills.

SPOKANE — A Spokane County jury today convicted Michael Phillips of first degree rape. Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit won the conviction in a trial that began on Dec. 15.

OLYMPIA — Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom heard arguments today on two more summary judgment motions filed in the Attorney General’s Office’s consumer protection case against Arlene’s Flowers, a Richland florist, and its owner and operator, Barronelle Stutzman.