Penalty Amount
$500,000
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $1.5 million settlement with Carvana to resolve hundreds of consumer complaints about delays in title and registration, delayed payments to sellers, and deceptive vehicle representations. The settlement includes a $1 million restitution fund for affected consumers and a $500,000 penalty to the state, with $250,000 suspended if Carvana complies. Carvana must comply with Connecticut laws and improve customer service.
Carvana must pay a $500,000 penalty to Connecticut, establish a $1 million consumer restitution fund, comply with state laws requiring timely title and registration, strengthen customer service systems, and appoint a direct contact for state complaints. $250,000 of the penalty is suspended upon full compliance.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements (if Carvana is a supplier), customer purchase contracts, and seller agreements (for entities selling vehicles to Carvana). Key clauses to scrutinize include: title and registration delivery timelines, seller payment terms and schedules, representations and warranties regarding vehicle condition/features, compliance with state consumer protection laws, dispute resolution mechanisms, and penalty or suspension conditions. Changes may be needed to add explicit deadlines for title/registration delivery, ensure accurate and non-misleading vehicle descriptions, incorporate restitution or offset provisions for consumer harm, establish direct state contact requirements, and include compliance monitoring or audit rights.
Entity
Carvana
Industry
Automotive$2.0M
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of four other states and the FTC sued Zillow and Redfin after Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to shut down its multifamily rental advertising business and transfer clients to Zillow. The settlement requires the companies to restore competition, with Redfin rebuilding its apartment advertising business, and pay $2 million to the coalition.
Attorney General William Tong sent a letter to the Connecticut Insurance Department urging rejection of double-digit rate increases sought by Anthem, ConnectiCare, and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group health insurance plans covering about 220,000 people. The letter argues the rates exceed inflationary measures and criticizes the carriers for failing to control costs and for poor claims system management, particularly ConnectiCare's transition to Molina Healthcare.
$275K
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $275,000 settlement with TaxAct, an online tax preparation company, over allegations that between January 2018 and December 2022, TaxAct improperly disclosed detailed customer financial information to Meta and Google through third-party tracking technologies without notifying taxpayers. The settlement requires TaxAct to pay $275,000 and implement new third-party tracking compliance measures, including a review committee, written policies, a tag monitoring system, and two independent third-party audits.
$4.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and the Federal Trade Commission announced a $4 million settlement with Manchester City Nissan (Chase Nissan LLC) resolving allegations that the dealership double-charged for 'certified pre-owned' vehicles and collected unauthorized junk fees. The settlement requires payment for consumer redress, prohibits misrepresentations, mandates clear disclosure of the maximum total price, and requires express informed consent for all charges.
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and DHS to block demands for the personal information of 17 million CDL drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data transfer.
Attorney General William Tong and a coalition of 10 attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a new OCC rule that preempts state laws requiring national banks to pay interest on homeowners' mortgage escrow accounts. The lawsuit argues the OCC ignored federal court decisions and bypassed safeguards, and seeks to block the rule.