Suthers

The proposed agreement with Penguin must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. If the agreement is finalized, the agreement will give e-book outlets greater freedom to reduce prices of e-book titles and consumers will receive $75 million in compensation. The consumers compensated would include individuals represented by Suthers’ office and individuals represented by private counsel in a related class action.

Colorado previously settled similar litigation with four other publishers, including Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, doing business as Macmillan, Simon & Schuster Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC and Hachette Book Group Inc. The settlement with Penguin would bring the total restitution available to e-book consumers of the five publishers to $164 million. The parties will provide restitution to consumers after they submit a distribution plan to the court for approval.

A trial for Colorado’s antitrust action based on the same allegations against Apple is scheduled in June.

Other states and territories involved in the proposed multi-state settlement include Wisconsin, West Virginia, Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Dakota, New York, New Mexico, Nebraska, Missouri, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Louisiana, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, District of Columbia, Delaware, Connecticut, Arkansas, Arizona, Alaska and Alabama.

Jepsen

Jepsen’s office has received numerous reports of Connecticut residents being called with an automated message that claims the DMV provided information to help them save money on auto insurance premiums. The message claims the information provided by the DMV let the callers research the residents’ insurance history and allowed them to contact the residents.

The DMV does not and will not share the personal information of its customers for insurance purposes. Jepsen and DMV Commissioner Melody Currey said the callers’ claim that they received insurance information and approval from the DMV is false and misleading.

“Consumers should never give out personal information over the phone unless they’re absolutely certain they know who they’re dealing with,” Jepsen said.

Scam artists are getting increasingly sophisticated and creative in the methods used to obtain personal information. Some callers also use special software to disguise the number they are calling from. The scammers solicit Connecticut residents through phone calls, emails, faxes and regular postal mail to get access to funds and obtain personal and financial information.

Cooper

Cooper and state law enforcement divisions oppose the move, claiming it would compromise the SBI’s independence and jeopardize its quick response to local safety concerns. The budget proposal issued on Sunday would remove most of the SBI from the Department of Justice to the Department of Public Safety.

“For over 75 years, the SBI has provided a check on power and no matter who controls the state legislature, the governor’s office or the attorney general’s office, this system works best,” Cooper said. “Putting the SBI under any governor’s administration increases the risk that corruption and cover up occur with impunity.”

Cooper said the Senate’s plan to keep four or five people in his office to handle public corruption was nothing more than a fig leaf to cover a move that would significantly cripple public corruption inquiries. Cooper stood with more than a dozen chiefs of police, sheriffs, district attorneys and other law enforcement officials to oppose the proposals during a news conference on Monday.

In the past decade, SBI agents have looked into more than 500 public officials, including the Department of Public Safety and other executive branch agencies.

Suthers

Quantum Title, Michael Martinez, the company’s owner, and Kathy Norman, the company’s accountant, allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme by purposely taking money funded for closings and using it for other means, relying on future fundings to pay off older transactions. After Quantum Title ceased operations in July 2011, claiming it was unable to meet escrow obligations, the Colorado Division of Insurance looked into the company’s actions. The division alleged that approximately $3 million was missing from Quantum Title’s escrow account.

While looking into Quantum Title’s actions, Suthers’ office learned that the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Freddie Mac were looking into Martinez for possible mortgage fraud related to other investment companies he owned. The FHFA and Freddie Mac turned over the inquiry to Suthers’ office. Suthers’ office alleged that Martinez, Norman and Ben Velasquez used deceptive information to gain the mortgages of three properties from lenders.

Martinez and Norman were indicted on one count of theft over $20,000 and one count of theft over $15,000. Velasquez was indicted on one count of theft over $20,000 and two counts of forgery.

If convicted, Martinez, Norman and Velasquez could face between four and 12 years in prison, in addition to restitution.

Strange

The board received multiple reports of problems during the summer months when some companies use a non-professional sales staff. Some salespeople employ unethical solicitations and high-pressure sales tactics in an attempt to frighten people into buying or upgrading unnecessary security products and services. Some registered complaints were made by senior citizens.

“The Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure licenses companies in many of Alabama’s largest counties,” Strange said. “Consumers who are considering the purchase or installation of a security system or locks should check with the Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure to see if the company has a license and if any problems have been reported. Do not let anyone frighten you into making a decision before you are ready, or into buying something you may not want or need.”

Some improper sales scare tactics include salespeople saying that thieves are cutting phone wires to get people to buy cellular security systems, stating that they are there to upgrade the security system because it is not working properly and claiming that recent burglaries occurred in the neighborhood. Other unethical practices include high-pressure pitches that are said to be good for that day only and pretending to be working in conjunction with a municipality to protect citizens.

All locksmith and alarm companies in Alabama must be licensed by the board, except in certain counties exempt from state law. To obtain a license, the companies must subject employees to a national background and fingerprint check. Licensed locksmith and alarm companies are subject to discipline from the board if they violate state regulations.

According to blog CapitolFax.com, Cross, who has served in the state House of Representatives since 1993 and is a former county prosecutor, has been asked to think about a bid in case current Attorney General Lisa Madigan decides to run for governor in 2014.

Cross

Madigan, a Democrat, has served as Illinois’ attorney general since 2003. She is the state’s first female attorney general.

In January, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet that Madigan was “seriously thinking” about a run.

“She had made special outreach to labor and they know it, they’ve noticed in terms of her showing up at events and the like,” Durbin said. “I don’t think she has made a final decision. I know she is in the process of making a decision.”

State Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, is also considering a run for the Attorney General’s Office, CapitolFax.com reported Monday.

Durkin ran against Durbin in 2002. He received the Republican nomination with 46 percent of the votes, defeating Jim Oberweis and John H. Cox in the primary. But he lost to Durbin in the general election.

Both Cross and Durkin’s “people” told the blog they are waiting to see what Madigan does before making a final decision.

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.

The Associated Press reported on the request Wednesday.

Dann

Dann was forced to resign as the state’s top lawyer in May 2008, just two years after being elected.

He later pleaded guilty to ethics violations involving campaign and transition funds.

Richard Cordray, who now heads the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was elected to the attorney general post in November 2008 to serve the remainder of Dann’s term.

In November, the state Supreme Court ordered a six-month suspension of Dann’s license, following the recommendation of the state Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline.

The board’s recommendation was based on findings that Dann was convicted of two misdemeanor offenses and violated state attorney discipline rules by improperly using funds from his political campaign account to provide extra compensation to two senior members of his staff, and by filing inaccurate financial disclosure statements while he held public office.

In particular, the board found that Dann engaged in conduct that adversely reflected on his “fitness” to practice law by using campaign funds to cover the Columbus living expenses of two senior aides while they were employed by the Attorney General’s Office.

The board also found that Dann failed to report in his 2006 and 2007 financial disclosure statements checks he received from his campaign account or his use of a private jet leased by a campaign contributor to fly himself, family members and guests to a conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.

The American Tort Reform Association said House Bill 227 will bring “good-government transparency to the state’s hiring of private sector attorneys on a contingency fee basis.”

HB 227, sponsored by state Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Jefferson, and companion Senate Bill 134, sponsored by state Sen. Cam Ward, also a Republican, regulates how contingency fee contracts are awarded, the amount that can be paid, and establishes transparency and accountability measures for contingency fee attorneys representing the state.

Joyce

ATRA President Tiger Joyce said his organization has helped make the case for the Transparency in Private Attorney Contracting Act, which passed the House by a nearly 2-1 margin on April 16 and by a 28-1 — with one abstention — Senate vote Tuesday.

“As is often the case with the crafting and enactment of positive civil justice reforms, credit for this legislation goes to many,” Joyce said, commending DeMarco, Ward, Senate Speaker Pro Tem Del Marsh, House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Attorney General Luther Strange.

“In too many states without comparable statutes, attorneys general or other state officials have sometimes hired their friends or political supporters to perform legal work for the state without an open bidding process and with few if any records kept about compensation and work performed,” he continued.

“But Alabama now joins a growing number of states, including neighboring Mississippi, that have chosen the kind of transparency that taxpayers and voters deserve. This legislation will improve the reputation of the state’s civil justice system and make it easier to attract businesses and jobs.”

Among the measure’s provisions:

- Any state entity seeking to enter into a contingency fee contract must make a written determination that such representation is both cost-effective and in the public interest. This must include details about whether the state has sufficient legal and financial resources to handle the matter on its own without a contingency fee contract; the expected time and labor required, as well as the complexity and skill necessary to handle the issues; and the amount of experience desired for the particular attorney services and the nature of private attorney’s experience with similar matters;

- To ensure that the public interest is kept as the foremost consideration when cases are handled by private attorneys on contingency fee basis, the bill mandates that a government attorney retains complete control over the litigation. The government attorney has supervisory authority, retains veto power over any decisions by private attorneys, may be contacted directly by defendants, must attend all settlement conferences, and has exclusive discretion over settlement decisions;

- Contingency fees will be limited to 22 percent of the first $10 million; plus 20 percent of the next $15 million; plus 16 percent of the next $25 million; plus 12 percent of the next $25 million; plus 8 percent of the next $25 million; plus 7.1 percent of any recovery exceeding $100 million. Total fees are capped at $75 million per action; and

- For transparency and accountability of public funds, contingency fee attorneys must keep detailed records of expenses and time spent on a case, which would be available to the state for inspection. The contingency fee contract and all payments made are to be posted on the state’s Open Alabama website.

ATRA, which has championed a national effort to pass such state legislation, said it expects Gov. Robert Bentley to sign the bill into law soon.

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.

The nation’s second largest city on Tuesday endorsed a national drive for an amendment overturning the court’s Citizens United decision.

The nation’s high court held in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited because of the First Amendment.

The court’s ruling in favor of Citizens United stemmed from a dispute over whether the non-profit corporation could air a film critical of current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Proposition C, backed by a coalition of public interest groups led by Common Cause, instructs elected officials and legislators who represent Los Angeles in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento to support an amendment that would again permit common sense limits on corporate political spending.

It received nearly 77 percent of the vote in the municipal election.

“The voters have spoken loud and clear that they want big money out of our elections,” Derek Cressman, director of Common Cause’s “Only People Are People” campaign, said in a statement Wednesday.

“Now it’s up to the Los Angeles congressional delegation to heed the call from their constituents.”

Flynn

Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause’s senior vice president for strategy and programs, called Tuesday’s vote a “tremendous victory.”

“We’re determined to press for similar voter initiatives and legislative endorsements across the nation, building on the tremendous support for an amendment we saw last November in Montana and Colorado, and through votes in more than 400 localities including San Francisco, Chicago and Boston,” she said in a statement.

Common Cause describes itself as a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to “restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government that works for the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard.”

Thirteen state legislatures have passed resolutions or sent letters to Congress calling for an amendment to overturn the decision, West Virginia and Maine being the most recent.

The other states include: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont, as has Washington, D.C.

And Illinois is one step closer to becoming the 14th state.

Last week, the state Senate voted 37-9 in favor of a joint resolution calling for a similar constitutional amendment. The measure currently is before the House of Representatives.

In addition, nearly 500 local municipalities across the country have called for such an amendment.

“The people are speaking here — at the ballot box and through their elected representatives,” Hobert Flynn said.

“The overwhelming majorities supporting an amendment in every jurisdiction where it has come to a vote should send a powerful signal to Washington and every state capitol.”

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.

Caldwell

In a report by WWL-TV Monday, Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch and the American Tort Reform Association say the contingency fee contracts Caldwell is using are illegal.

“The attorney general is contracting out much of the state’s legal business to a small group of politically connected trial lawyers,” Melissa Landry, executive director of the state’s Lawsuit Abuse Watch, said during the station’s 10 p.m. newscast.

“Many of those individuals are campaign contributors.”

Landry pointed to Allen Usry, the attorney general’s campaign chief, which has 11 contracts to represent the Attorney General’s Office. He, his family and other attorneys at his law firm Usry, Weeks & Matthews have given Caldwell more than $100,000 in combined contributions.

In total, 13 outside firms, given contract work by Caldwell, contributed nearly $280,000 to the attorney general’s campaigns, Landry told the TV station.

ATRA, which has dubbed the attorney general’s system of awarding contracts the “Buddy System,” argues that Caldwell should open the contracting process to a public review process.

“I just gotta do things my way,” the attorney general told WWL when asked about the no-bid element of his system.

“I’m from a small town and you gotta know people, and you know if you’ve had contact with them if they’ve got a certain skill set.”

That’s the problem, ATRA President Tiger Joyce told the TV station.

“To say there are only a handful of people I know and trust, that’s an unacceptable answer,” he said. “And any reform would begin with the notion of public bidding for those services.”

To watch the full segment, click here.

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.