Lawsuits & Settlements

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief opposing the Trump Administration’s executive orders targeting programs that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). These orders declare programs promoting DEIA to be illegal and discriminatory, and require executive agencies to certify that all their contracts and grants do not promote DEIA. In the brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition support nonprofit organization Chicago Women in Trades in its lawsuit challenging the orders as unlawful. The coalition urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to uphold the preliminary injunction granted by a district court blocking the executive orders’ restrictions. 

“Supporting policies that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility ensures all individuals can grow and thrive without unfair roadblocks, not just in California, but across the nation,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Trump’s continued attacks on these values not only threaten the data-backed economic and social benefits DEIA practices bring to communities, but also leverage federal funding to suppress state and private entities’ right to express their values. My fellow attorneys general and I will continue to support those standing up against Trump’s bully tactics and anti-American orders, and will fight to ensure safe and welcoming communities for all.” 

In January 2025, the Trump Administration issued two executive orders targeting DEIA and “equity-related grants or contracts.” While the anti-DEIA executive orders did not define these or other key terms, they directed: (1) executive agencies to terminate equity-related grants or contracts; (2) agencies to require contractors and grantees to certify that they do not run DEIA programs that, in the Administration’s view, violate federal anti-discrimination laws; and (3) the U.S. Attorney General to take steps to discourage private-sector use of DEIA, including deterring such initiatives and promoting compliance investigations.  

Chicago Women in Trades, an organization that addresses gender-based structural obstacles facing prospective trade workers, filed a lawsuit challenging these executive orders in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The district court issued a preliminary injunction, concluding that the organization was likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the executive orders’ certification requirement violates Chicago Women in Trades’ First Amendment rights. The Trump Administration appealed this decision to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 

In an amicus brief filed yesterday, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that:

• Practices that promote DEIA are permitted and often even required under federal civil rights and anti-discrimination laws. Even when not required by law, research indicates that DEIA-related policies and practices lead to benefits such as economic growth and better educational outcomes, rather than creating the purported “disastrous consequences” asserted by the executive orders.
• The executive orders lack clarity around the proposed certification requirements, creating confusion and compliance burdens that harm states, individuals, and businesses alike. The executive orders do not provide clear definitions of key terms like “DEIA,” “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” or “accessibility,” nor do they explain what aspects of such terms now constitute violations of federal law. This opaqueness creates a chilling effect for state and private entities, who must choose between broadly halting programs and services that their communities rely on or risk facing litigation or loss of crucial federal funding. 

Attorney General Bonta co-led the filing of today’s brief along with the attorneys general of Illinois and Massachusetts. They are joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the brief can be found here.

Since the Attorney General’s Office opened a civil rights investigation in 2021, the Sheriff’s Department has made a number of reforms but remains obstinate on persistent civil rights violations at its jails.

LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles (County), Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), and County Correctional Health Services (CHS) over unconstitutional and inhumane conditions at Los Angeles County jails. In 2021, the Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into whether LASD had engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing. Among other issues, the investigation revealed significant ongoing constitutional violations at Los Angeles County jails, including a significant increase in in-custody deaths, despite decreases in the jail population size; uninhabitable and overcrowded jail facilities with inadequate plumbing, sanitation, and temperature control, which has contributed to multiple deaths; and a failure to provide adequate medical and mental health care to people inside the jails. Following extensive engagement with the County and LASD, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, during which they refused to agree to the comprehensive solutions necessary to improve conditions at all county jails, Attorney General Bonta today filed a lawsuit to compel much-needed reforms. 

“In recent years, my office has successfully negotiated settlements with law enforcement agencies across California to reform their practices, including most recently, an agreement with the neighboring city of Torrance,” said Attorney General Bonta. "While the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Luna have made a number of reforms to patrol operations during the course of our investigation, they have remained obstinate on the issue of improving the unsafe and unconstitutional conditions at county jails. We’re going to court because we have no other choice —  we will not let Los Angeles County continue to ignore its responsibility to the health, safety, and well-being of the individuals under its care. Los Angeles operates the largest jail system in the United States — and one of the most problematic. When we’re talking about feces smeared on the walls and medical care denied to those in need, we’re talking about a disrespect for the basic dignity of our fellow humans and a violation of their most fundamental constitutional rights. We’re confident the court will agree."

The Attorney General’s investigation found that Los Angeles County jails are uninhabitable and under-resourced. People incarcerated in the Los Angeles County jails, many of whom are awaiting trial, are forced to live in filthy cells with broken and overflowing toilets, infestations of rats and roaches, and no clean water for drinking or bathing. They are provided spoiled, moldy, and nutritionally inadequate meals; little to no access to hygiene supplies, such as soap, toilet paper, and menstrual products; little to no clean clothing and bedding; and almost no time outside their cells. Many individuals suffer physical or mental deterioration in these punitive conditions but are unable to access necessary medical or mental health care. The lack of access to care contributes to the shocking rate of preventable in-custody deaths, such as suicides. According to LASD’s own data over the last three years, the number of preventable deaths inside the jails has continued to climb under Sheriff Luna. The lack of access to medical and mental health care also leaves incarcerated persons woefully ill-equipped to re-enter society at large and hinders any meaningful rehabilitation of those serving sentences. 

The County and LASD have been aware of the unconstitutional and deplorable conditions in their jails for decades. Yet instead of addressing root causes or devoting resources to resolving violations of state and federal law that they themselves acknowledge, the County and LASD have continued to resist oversight and accountability, spending millions of dollars to defend and settle litigation about abuses in the jails over the years, without making the necessary changes to their operations and policies and stymying the work of independent oversight bodies to provide some level of transparency and accountability. While LASD has made a number of improvements to its policing practices — especially in patrols — over the course of many years and multiple consent decrees, the County and LASD have failed to implement agreed-upon reforms designed to address similar constitutional violations that persist in the jails.  

In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta seeks injunctive and declaratory relief that would require the County, LASD and Sheriff Luna, and CHS and its Director to implement overarching reforms in county jails including, but not limited to: (1) providing constitutionally adequate medical, dental, and mental healthcare to incarcerated persons; (2) protecting incarcerated persons from an unreasonable risk of harm; (3) providing habitable, humane, and safe conditions of confinement; (4) respecting the dignity and health of incarcerated persons; (5) ensuring health care requests are addressed promptly and fully; (6) providing reasonable accommodations and equal access to programs, services, and activities for incarcerated persons with disabilities; and (7) providing access to multilingual, interpretation, and translation services for incarcerated persons with limited English proficiency.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to strengthening accountability in local law enforcement as one key part of the broader effort to increase public safety for all Californians. Last month, Attorney General Bonta announced an enforceable agreement requiring Torrance Police Department (TPD) to engage in a comprehensive set of reforms — which TPD voluntarily entered into — to improve TPD’s organizational health and relationship with the community. In 2024, Attorney General Bonta announced the conclusion of DOJ oversight of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), after SFPD achieved substantial compliance with recommended reforms to its policing policies and practices. He secured a settlement agreement with the City of Vallejo and the Vallejo Police Department requiring reforms to the department’s policies and practices. Attorney General Bonta is also engaged in ongoing pattern or practice investigations into the Antioch Police Department stemming from allegations of bigoted text messages and other potentially discriminatory misconduct, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department following allegations of excessive force, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office relating to conditions of confinement in jail facilities.

A copy of the lawsuit, filed today in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, is available here. 

Travel agent failed to offer refunds for trips cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Mateo District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe today announced a settlement with Nawas International Travel Service (Nawas), a California travel agency focusing on religious travel, for failing to provide full refunds to consumers whose trips were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The settlement today, pending court approval, includes at least $567,138 in full restitution of cancellation fees to affected California travelers, $560,000 in civil penalties under the California’s Unfair Competition Law and Seller of Travel Act, and strong injunctive terms that prohibit Nawas from imposing cancellation fees that violate California law. 

“We are proud to announce that today, in partnership with the San Mateo District Attorney, we’ve secured full refunds for hundreds of Californians who were harmed by the illegal practices of Nawas International Travel Service. Travel agents operating in California must comply with California’s strong consumer protection laws, which includes providing timely refunds for cancelled travel,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today's settlement provides important restitution for those harmed by Nawas's attempt to disregard California law and a reminder to the travel industry that all California Sellers of Travel need to play by the rules."  

“California law provides protections for consumers when purchasing travel from Sellers of Travel. My office was pleased to work with the Attorney General’s Office in this case to ensure these laws were enforced,” said San Mateo District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe. 

Nawas is a seller and provider of tours to religious sites around the world, including sites in the Middle East and Europe. Nawas markets its tours largely through clergy and many of Nawas’s travelers are senior citizens. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nawas cancelled hundreds of international tours. After the cancellation, rather than refunding the full amount of the travelers’ deposits and tour payments, Nawas unlawfully withheld “cancellation fees” of between $200 and $1,150 per traveler. In all, Nawas withheld approximately $560,000 in what they termed cancellation fees from approximately 600 California travelers. Nawas’s withholding of those funds violated the California Seller of Travel Act, which requires sellers of travel to provide full refunds for any travel that they are unable to provide, with certain limited exceptions that do not apply here. Although Nawas claimed to travelers that it was allowed to withhold cancellation fees under its own terms and conditions, the Seller of Travel Act expressly prohibits this where, as here, the seller of travel is unable or unwilling to provide the purchased travel. 

The Attorney General’s Office operates the Seller of Travel Program, which registers travel agents and certain other travel businesses operating in California. The attorney general and district attorneys can bring enforcement actions against sellers of travel for violations of the law. We encourage any Californian who believes they have been wronged by a seller of travel to contact their local district attorney and file a complaint with our office at ‪www.oag.ca.gov/report.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to investigating and remedying harm to consumers affected by unlawful and deceptive business practices, including in the travel industry: 

Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta announced securing a nine-year jail sentence against Iqbal Randhawa for defrauding more than a dozen members of the South Asian immigrant community in Northern California. Between 2017 and 2020, each victim hired Randhawa, a travel agent, to purchase airline tickets, paying him between $1,100 and $12,000. Instead of buying the tickets, Randhawa provided fraudulent itineraries and stole the funds. Also last year, Attorney General Bonta and San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan announced the sentencing of Marie Martin, a San Diego-based travel agent and registered seller of travel, who embezzled travel funds from more than 150 parents who paid for eighth-grade school trips to the East Coast. After the school trips were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin refused to provide refunds to the parents, instead spending funds on personal expenses. In 2021, Attorney General Bonta announced a settlement  with Voyageurs International, resolving allegations that the Colorado-based travel agent offered only partial refunds for a cancelled European trip for California high school students and improperly pocketed their clients’ remaining fees. The settlement required Voyageurs to provide a full refund to its 130 California consumers, for a total of approximately $247,000 in restitution.  

A copy of the complaint and proposed settlement can be found here and here. The settlement is pending court approval. 

In 2024, NIH awarded $5.15 billion in grants and contracts that directly supported 55,324 jobs and $13.81 billion in economic activity in California

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led 16 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for failing to disperse grant funds and for unlawfully terminating existing grants for medical and public health research institutions across the country. Despite Congressional direction, the NIH has drastically reduced its funding to advance the United States' understanding of human disease and potential treatments. As a result, California universities have begun curtailing biomedical research and delaying the hiring of new staff and students who depend on NIH funding.

“In their unlawful withholding and terminating of medical and public health research grants, the Trump Administration is upending not only the critical work being done today, but the promise of progress for future generations,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Through research, we save lives, improve public wellbeing and create new economic opportunities that support a vibrant economy. Let me be clear: in California, NIH funding creates over 50,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. Over the decades, this funding has brought humanity the eradication of polio, discovery of the gene that causes breast and ovarian cancer, and the transformation of HIV from a fatal disease into one people can live with. Gutting NIH funding is a deep loss to innovation and progress built upon for decades — and it’s illegal. My office is proudly leading the charge to demand that the Trump Administration immediately restore funding to the important work being done in labs, schools, and hospitals across the nation.”

"The American research enterprise is the most successful, important, and impactful in the world,” said UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D. “We must continue to do all we can to develop treatments and cures for the serious medical conditions that threaten us all."

“We applaud the attorney general for filing this lawsuit. NIH funding is vital to the CSU’s ability to offer immersive student learning and discovery through distinctive research programs that directly benefit the health of all Americans,” said Ganesh Raman, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at the California State University. “These grants not only support research, but they also provide stipend and other funding that impact hundreds of CSU students, staff and faculty who engage in meaningful, and career-defining work. Terminating these federal grants will cause irreparable harm, undermine scientific progress and our collective capacity to innovate and lead California’s economy.”

NIH is the federal agency responsible for biomedical and public health research. Over 80% of Congressional funding supports NIH research and training at external labs, schools, and hospitals. It is estimated that every $1 invested in NIH research generates $2.56 of economic activity.

Over the years, NIH-supported research has had a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of the American people. NIH scientists pioneered the rubella vaccine, eradicating a disease that, in the 1960s, killed thousands of babies and left thousands more with lifelong disabilities. NIH studies led to the discovery of the BRCA mutation, helping countless Americans reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer. NIH research fueled the development of treatments for HIV and AIDS, transforming what used to be a fatal disease into one with a nearly normal life expectancy.   

The termination of NIH funding for research interventions to prevent or treat the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS, Covid and other virus families of pandemic concern — including emerging diseases such as Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika — increases the risk of and incidence of these diseases in California. The terminations have specifically targeted some of the most vulnerable Californians, including women experiencing domestic violence, children at risk of suicide, and underserved communities at a higher risk of chronic or infectious diseases.

Yet the Trump Administration has frozen the highly competitive process for approving new NIH grants. The Administration has also terminated existing NIH grants without any reasonable explanations after those grants were funded based on their scientific merit and potential innovative impact and appears to have terminated grants based on the projects' perceived connection to "DEI,” "transgender issues,” "vaccine hesitancy," or other topics disfavored by the Trump Administration. Similarly, training grants directed to increase diversity in the research work force have been pulled from review. NIH claims that these grants “no longer effectuate agency priorities.” 

In today’s lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration’s actions are arbitrary and capricious. The Trump Administration does not have the authority to unilaterally decline spending congressionally appropriated funds. 

In February, Attorney General Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country. Indirect cost reimbursements refer to expenses that are necessary to support research but are not easily linked to a specific research project. 

In bringing today’s lawsuit Attorney General Bonta and the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington lead the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. 

A copy of the complaint can be found here.

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Bonta today issued a statement on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island’s decision granting a temporary restraining order that immediately restores $11 billion in critical public health funding to state and local public health agencies across the country, including $972 million to California.

“Two days after filing our 9th lawsuit against the Trump Administration, we have secured a temporary order that restores public health funding and ensures communities nationwide are prepared for public health threats,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As our lawsuit continues, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure state and local health agencies have what they need to keep Americans healthy and safe.”

Beginning on March 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) abruptly, with no advance notice or warning, issued termination notices to state and local public health agencies across the country, purporting to end federal funding for grants that provide essential support for a wide range of urgent public health needs, including identifying, tracking, and addressing infectious diseases; ensuring access to immunizations; and modernizing critical public health infrastructure. The federal funding was appropriated by Congress to ensure the United States is better prepared for future public health threats.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Bonta announced co-leading a coalition of 23 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s HHS and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over the unlawful termination of public health funding. Today, the court responded by granting the requested temporary restraining order. 

The order temporarily restores essential public health funding and vital programs that serve millions of Californians, including children, rural communities, and nursing homes, including: 

• Over $800 million that the California Department of Public Health intended to use, in part, to vaccinate 4.5 million children statewide and assist hospitals in directing injured and ill patients to available health facilities during all types of emergencies, where efficient routing saves lives. 
• $119 million to the California Department of Health Care Services which supports key programs, including substance use disorder prevention and early intervention services for youth in at least 18 counties. 
• $45 million to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to use in part, to strengthen the County’s efforts to prevent the spread of measles, and seasonal and avian influenza. 

A copy of the order can be found here. 

In addition, DOJ has sent more than 700 price gouging warning letters to hotels and landlords

LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the filing of charges against a Southern California real estate agent and a landlord for price gouging a victim who was evacuated due to the Eaton Fire. This investigation began when a complaint was filed with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) after the victim took steps to rent a Hermosa Beach home after the Governor’s Emergency Order, which protects against price gouging, went into effect. The investigation revealed that after the Emergency Order was in place, the defendants increased the rental price by 36%, which exceeded the 10% limit laid out in Penal Code section 396. The charge carries a potential penalty of a $10,000 maximum fine and the possibility of 12 months in jail. 

“The California Department of Justice remains focused on putting a stop to price gouging,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Following the devastating fires in Southern California, I have been urging the public to report price gouging to local authorities, or to my office at oag.ca.gov/report or by reaching out to our hotline at (800) 952-5225. Today, we’ve announced price gouging charges against both a real estate agent and a landlord for price gouging in the wake of the Eaton Fire. DOJ will continue relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to capitalize off of the chaos and pain of Southern California’s natural disaster.”  

As part of Attorney General Bonta's work to protect Californians following the Southern California wildfires, DOJ has also sent more than 700 warning letters – and counting – to hotels and landlords who have been accused of price gouging. In addition, the office has more active criminal investigations into price gouging underway.
 
Working alongside our District Attorneys, City Attorneys, and other law enforcement partners, DOJ has opened active investigations into price gouging as it continues to ramp up deployment of resources to Los Angeles County to investigate and prosecute price gouging, fraud, scams, and unsolicited low-ball offers on property during the state of emergency. DOJ has been working diligently to tackle this unlawful and unscrupulous conduct since a state of emergency was declared on January 7, 2025, and to further those efforts, the launch of a website dedicated to its response: oag.ca.gov/LAFires.
 
California law – specifically, Penal Code section 396 – generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10%, the price a seller charged for an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. For items a seller only began selling after an emergency declaration, the law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds the seller's cost of the item by more than 50%. This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, and gasoline. The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and long- and short-term rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business. 

Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, injunctive relief, and mandatory restitution. The Attorney General and local prosecutors can enforce the statute.

TIPS FOR REPORTING PRICE GOUGING, SCAMS, FRAUD AND OTHER CRIMES:

1. Visit oag.ca.gov/LAfires or call our hotline at: (800) 952-5225.
2. Include screenshots of all correspondence including conversations, text messages, direct messages (DMs), and voicemails
3. Provide anything that shows what prices you were offered, when, and by whom.
4. If you’re on a site like Zillow, you can also send screenshots of the price history and a link to the listing. 
5. Include first and last names of the realtors, listing agents, or business owners you spoke to. Be sure to include phone numbers, email addresses, home and business addresses, websites, social media accounts.
6. Don't leave out any information that can help us find and contact the business or landlord.

Californians who believe they have been the victim of price gouging should report it to their local authorities or to the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/LAfires. To view a list of all price gouging restrictions currently in effect as a result of proclamations by the Governor, please see here.

A copy of the complaint can be found here. 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside the U.S. Department of Justice and a bipartisan coalition of 10 attorneys general, filed an amended complaint against RealPage and the nation’s largest property management companies for maintaining an unlawful pricing alignment scheme that artificially raised rents and increased rent revenue across the board. Today’s amended complaint names five of the previously unnamed property management companies as defendants — including Camden, Cushman & Wakefield/Pinnacle, LivCor, Willow Bridge and Greystar — and seeks claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law against all defendants. Last August, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against RealPage, alleging that its unlawful pricing alignment scheme and illegal sharing of confidential pricing and supply information harmed consumers by decreasing competition among landlords, limiting price negotiation, and increasing prices in the rental housing industry. This price alignment scheme affected rental housing throughout the country including in California —especially in multifamily buildings in Southern California including in Orange County, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario, Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Temecula, Murrieta, San Diego, Coronado, and Carlsbad.

“When it comes reducing the cost of living for Californians, the California Department of Justice is all in. Today’s amended complaint against RealPage and some of the largest property management companies in the country, alleges that the companies artificially inflated rent prices and illegally maintained a minimum pricing floor against market trends, and that not only RealPage, but the landlords that profited from this scheme must be held accountable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “If you are in the renting business you are responsible for knowing and abiding by California laws. The housing affordability crisis hurts renters and those with the lowest incomes the hardest; the profits from these illegal schemes come out of the pockets of the people that can least afford it. California is stronger when we protect tenants and a competitive economy."

RealPage is in the business of generating rent increases and growing revenue for landlords by using algorithmic models to recommend price increases to subscribers. It does so by amassing competitively sensitive data from competing landlords through its pricing algorithms and sharing this data among subscribers. Landlords understand that their nonpublic data will be used to recommend prices not just for their own units, but also for competitors who use the programs, and agree to provide this information because they understand they will benefit from the information of their rivals. In other words, RealPage knows what competing landlords are charging and can increase profits for landlords by using that information to recommend landlords set or raise their prices uniformly, thereby eliminating competition, and leaving renters no choice but to pay artificially high prices.

Over the last four decades, housing needs have significantly outpaced housing production in California. Housing costs have skyrocketed, making it harder for Californians to keep a roof over their heads. California's 17 million renters spend a significant portion of their paychecks on rent, with an estimated 700,000 Californians at risk of eviction.    

The amended lawsuit filed today alleges that RealPage, Camden, Cushman & Wakefield/Pinnacle, LivCor, Willow Bridge and Greystar’s conduct violates both federal antitrust laws and California’s Unfair Competition Law. 

In filing the amended lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta joins the U.S. Department of Justice and the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington.

The amended complaint can be found here. 

 Most of landmark child online safety law will take effect on January 1, 2025  

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement in response to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s decision denying in large part Big Tech’s attempt to stop Senate Bill (SB) 976 from going into effect on January 1, 2025. Also known as the “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act,” SB 976 interrupts the ability of social media companies and other website operators to use addictive algorithmic feeds, notifications, and other addictive design features to trick and hook children and teens to spend hours and hours on their platforms. 

“There is mounting evidence showing the devastating toll that social media addiction can have on our children's mental health and well-being. This addiction is not an accident; it is fed by algorithms deployed by Big Tech,” said Attorney General Bonta. “California’s landmark law allows young people to intentionally develop the relationship they want with social media, rather than the relationship that is most profitable for companies using tricks and traps to glue young people’s eyes to their screens. We are pleased the court understands the importance of giving California families this choice.”

Although the court today upheld most of SB 976, it blocked two portions of SB 976 from taking effect tomorrow on free speech grounds — this aspect of the decision is erroneous because no part of SB 976 regulates speech. The California Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend this law in court and remains confident in the commonsense statute enacted by both Democrats and Republicans, and supported by teachers, public health professionals, and parents in California.

A copy of the decision can be found here. 

Submit claims online by January 8, 2025

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today reminded California residents who purchased gas in Southern California between February 20, 2015 and November 10, 2015 to submit a claim for a payment under the state’s antitrust settlement with gas trading firms for tampering with and manipulating prices for California gasoline. The deadline to submit claims is January 8, 2025. Eligible Californians may submit a claim online at www.CalGasLitigation.com.

“California, don’t forget to claim your money! When companies conspire to unlawfully raise prices for consumers, my office steps in, just as we did with our litigation and settlement against two gas trading firms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As part of this settlement, I am proud to deliver money back to Californians who may have been impacted by gas price manipulation. I urge eligible drivers to submit a claim by January 8, 2025.”

In July 2024, Attorney General Bonta announced a $50 million settlement with gas trading firms, resolving allegations that Vitol, Inc. and SK Energy Americas, Inc., along with its parent company SK Trading International, secretly worked together to tamper with and manipulate spot market prices for California gasoline. If you purchased gasoline in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and/or Imperial counties in California between February 20 and November 10, 2015, you may be eligible for a payment. The Attorney General's settlement is in addition to a settlement of a private class action lawsuit filed in federal court.  

To submit a claim, learn full details about your rights and options, and access frequently asked questions, visit www.CalGasLitigation.com. 

Antitrust enforcement is an essential component of a healthy economy. Competitive marketplaces established through antitrust vigilance help consumers by ensuring fair prices for goods and services, an array of products to choose from, quality goods and services, and the steady introduction of innovative new products. As part of the Attorney General’s commitment to enforce antitrust laws, the California Department of Justice recently launched a new Antitrust Complaint Form. Please click here to report anticompetitive conduct that potentially violates the antitrust laws.

Merger would have further squeezed the pockets of grocery shoppers

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after Albertsons announced it was terminating its $24.6 billion merger with Kroger. Kroger and Albertsons are the largest supermarket chains in the country, and the proposed merger presented a significant risk of reduced competition and higher food prices nationwide, especially in Southern California. In February 2024, Attorney General Bonta joined the Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan coalition of states in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Portland to challenge the proposed merger. Today’s announcement follows a court decision yesterday halting the proposed merger. 

“As the fifth largest economy in the world, California has an outsized responsibility in ensuring business practices are fair and competitive, and this week, we’ve delivered. Corporate consolidation means big profits for corporations out of the pockets of California consumers and our local economies. The end of the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger is a tremendous victory for grocery shoppers, workers, and businesses who compete fairly,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I am proud of the work my office has done in collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission and remain steadfast in my commitment to economic justice and protecting an economy where both businesses and families can thrive.”