AG announces settlement with Skechers
Today, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced that Virginia has joined 43 other states, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Trade Commission in settling causes of action against Skechers USA, Inc., arising from its unsupported advertising claims regarding the health benefits of its Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups, and Skechers Resistance Runner athletic shoes.
The lawsuits filed by the attorneys general allege that Skechers made health-related claims in the marketing, packaging, advertising, offering, and selling of its line of rocker-bottom shoe products that were not adequately proven. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Skechers claimed that these shoes caused weight loss, improved circulation, reduced cellulite, and firmed, toned, or strengthened thigh, buttock, and back muscles. Under the settlement, Skechers is prohibited from making these claims unless it has adequate proof to do so. It has also agreed to pay up to $40 million in consumer refunds and an additional $5 million to the states. Virginia will receive approximately $115,000, which will be deposited into a fund for future consumer protection enforcement. Read more
Cuccinelli announces suit against Apple and e-book publishers
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced today that he has joined a lawsuit against Penguin, MacMillan, and Apple Inc., alleging that the companies violated state and federal antitrust laws by conspiring to fix the prices of e-books.
“We do not want businesses interfering with the markets by illegally conspiring to fix prices,” Cuccinelli said. Read more
AG announces suit against former White House crasher
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced today that he has filed suit against Tareq Salahi and two related entities involved in a wine tour venture for alleged violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, including not delivering tours as promised, not providing refunds for tours they canceled, and misrepresenting reputable businesses as “official partners.”
Salahi and the other two defendants, Virginia Wine Tourism, Inc. and Celebration Entertainment Productions, LLC (collectively, “VirginiaWineTour.com”), offer wine tour services in the Northern Virginia region through the web site VirginiaWineTour.com. Read more
DOJ clears Virginia’s redrawn congressional districts
The United States Department of Justice informed the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Wednesday that it had no objection to Virginia’s newly redrawn congressional districts, which were drawn by the General Assembly earlier this year.
Virginia is one of 16 states required under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to pre-clear (get federal approval for) changes in voting practices or procedures with the Justice Department. Today, the department has pre-cleared the districts drawn by House Bill 251, so the new districts are now in effect for both primary and general elections. Read more
Court on climate-research case: UVa. cannot be served with CID
The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled on Friday that the University of Virginia and all other state agencies cannot be served with civil investigative demands which compel agencies to provide information for fraud investigations involving government funds.
Although the court recognized Virginia’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act contains “functional inconsistencies” on the issue, in its ruling, the court said that the university and other state agencies are not considered “persons” under the act. In doing so, the court explicitly recognized that in some instances in the act, the term “person” will “always [be] construed to include Commonwealth agencies” such as the University of Virginia, while in other instances, it will not. Read more
Court dismisses lawsuit over GA’s authority to draw congressional districts
The Richmond Circuit Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by six Virginia residents that sought to have the court draw Virginia’s congressional districts for the upcoming elections.
The court found that the 2012 General Assembly had the power to draw new congressional districts, and therefore, the plaintiffs’ suit had to be dismissed. Read more
David Reynolds: Our next governor
Posted by afp on February 21, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with bill bolling, bob mcdonnell, david reynolds, ken cuccinelli, republican politics, virginia politics