Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced that his office, along with the Attorneys General of 45 other States and the District of Columbia, have obtained a $17.5 million-dollar settlement with The Home Depot, resolving a multistate investigation into a 2014 data breach impacting approximately 40 million Home Depot consumers nationwide.

Attorney General Doug Peterson, along with a coalition of 33 additional attorneys general, today announced a $113 million settlement with Apple, Inc. (Apple) regarding Apple’s 2016 decision to throttle consumers’ iPhone speeds in order to address unexpected shutdowns in some iPhones.  

Attorneys General from the states of Iowa, Colorado, Tennessee, New York, North Carolina, Utah and Nebraska released the following statement regarding today’s antitrust filing by U.S. Department of Justice and the multistate investigation into Google.

LINCOLN – Attorney General Peterson today announced a global settlement framework agreement between state attorneys general, local subdivisions, and the opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt (MNK), its subsidiaries, and certain other affiliates. Under the settlement, MNK will pay $1.6 billion into a trust as described below. MNK is currently the largest generic opioid manufacturer in the United States and filed for bankruptcy yesterday.

Lincoln – Nebraska Attorney General Peterson today joined a coalition of 43 attorneys general in urging the creative community to take action to protect young viewers from tobacco imagery in streamed movies and programs.

LINCOLN – Attorney General Doug Peterson today announced that Nebraska has joined a $39.5 million settlement with Anthem stemming from a massive 2014 data breach that involved the personal information of 78.8 million Americans. Nebraska will receive $176,991 from the settlement.  

In February 2015, Anthem disclosed that cyber attackers had infiltrated its systems beginning in February 2014, using malware installed through a phishing email. The attackers were ultimately able to gain access to names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, healthcare identification numbers, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and employment information for millions of Americans. In Nebraska, 104,795 residents were affected by the breach. In the immediate wake of the breach, Anthem offered an initial two years of credit monitoring to all affected U.S. individuals.

In addition to the payment to the states, Anthem has agreed to a series of provisions designed to strengthen its security practices going forward. Those include:

• Implementation of a comprehensive information security program, incorporating principles of zero trust architecture, and including regular security reporting to the Board of Directors and prompt notice of significant security events to the CEO;
• Specific security requirements with respect to segmentation, logging and monitoring, anti-virus maintenance, access controls and two-factor authentication, encryption, risk assessments, penetration testing, and employee training, among other requirements; and
• Third-party security assessments and audits for three (3) years, as well as a requirement that Anthem make its risk assessments available to a third-party assessor during that term.

Joining Nebraska in this settlement were attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

To obtain information about how to protect yourself as a consumer, file a consumer complaint, or report a scam, please visit the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division website at www.protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov or call (800) 727-6432.

Celebrity Homes, Inc. to pay $15,000 to settle Consumer Review Fairness Act claims

LINCOLN — Attorney General Doug Peterson announced today that his office has reached a settlement with Celebrity Homes, Inc. (“Celebrity Homes”), an Omaha homebuilder, to resolve allegations that the company violated the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA).  The CRFA is a federal statute which prohibits businesses from using form contract provisions to prohibit consumers from writing or posting negative reviews online, or threatening the consumers with legal action if they do.  According to the Attorney General, Celebrity Homes used non-disparagement provisions in their contracts to sell and construct custom homes for consumers.

“In today’s information age, it is increasingly common for consumers to rely on customer reviews and ratings to compare merchants, which makes it critically important that all consumers be allowed to share their honest opinions. This company used non-disparagement clauses in its form contracts to discourage their customers from posting honest but negative feedback online,” said Attorney General Peterson. “These contract provisions are illegal, and companies that use them will be held accountable.”

Under the terms of the settlement, Celebrity Homes is prohibited from using contract terms that violate the Consumer Review Fairness Act. In addition, the settlement requires the company to notify customers whose contracts contained these illegal clauses that the provisions are void and cannot be enforced. Those customers can publish honest reviews on any social media or internet platform, even if their comments are negative.

Finally, the company has agreed to pay $15,000 to the Attorney General’s Office.

Click here for a copy of the complaint and here for a copy of the settlement.

To obtain information about how to protect yourself as a consumer, file a consumer complaint, or report a scam, please visit the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division website at www.protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov or call (800) 727-6432.

Lincoln, Nebraska – Attorney General Peterson announced today that his office has secured $1,982,088.64 in debt relief for approximately 200 former ITT Tech students in Nebraska as part of a settlement with 48 attorneys general and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Nationally, the settlement will result in debt relief of about $330 million for 35,000 former ITT students who have outstanding loan balances.  The settlement is with PEAKS Trust, a private loan program run by the for-profit college and affiliated with Deutsche Bank entities. ITT filed bankruptcy in 2016, amid investigations by state attorneys general and following action by the U.S. Department of Education to restrict ITT’s access to federal student aid. 

“As Attorney General, I am committed to protecting Nebraska students and their families from institutions that put profits ahead of people,” General Peterson said.

PEAKS was formed after the 2008 financial crisis when private sources of lending available to for-profit colleges dried up. ITT developed a plan with PEAKS to offer students temporary credit to cover the gap in tuition between federal student aid and the full cost of the education. 

The attorneys general alleged that ITT, with PEAKS’s knowledge, offered students zero-interest, short-term loans upon enrollment and later pressured those students into accepting high-interest, long-term loans offered by PEAKS. The vast majority of students later defaulted on these loans.

Under the settlement, PEAKS has agreed to cease doing business and forego collection of the outstanding loans. PEAKS will send notices to affected borrowers about the canceled debt and ensure that automatic payments are canceled.  The settlement also requires PEAKS to update credit information for affected borrowers with the credit reporting agencies.

No action is required by eligible students to receive the debt relief. Eligible students will receive further information by mail explaining their rights under the settlement.  Students may direct questions to PEAKS at customerservice@peaksloans.com or 866-747-0273, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at (855) 411-2372.

In June 2019, Attorney General Peterson was part of a $168 million settlement that resulted in debt relief for 18,664 former ITT students. That agreement was with Student CU Connect CUSO, LLC, which also offered loans to finance students’ tuition at ITT Tech.

Joining Nebraska in this settlement were attorneys generals from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

To obtain information about how to protect yourself as a consumer, file a consumer complaint, or report a scam, please visit the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division website at www.protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov or call (800) 727-6432.

Lincoln – Attorney General Doug Peterson, along with a coalition of 48 attorneys general today announced a settlement with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Honda of America Mfg., Inc. (collectively “Honda”). The settlement resolves allegations Honda concealed safety issues related to defects in the frontal airbag systems installed in certain Honda and Acura vehicles sold in Nebraska and throughout the United States. The airbags posed a significant risk of rupture, which could cause metal fragments to fly into the passenger compartments of many Honda and Acura vehicles. The ruptures have resulted in at least 14 deaths and over 200 injuries in the United States alone. The airbag systems were designed and manufactured by Takata Corporation, a long-time Honda supplier, and were first installed in Honda vehicles in the 2001 model year.

“Product recalls have the power to save lives,” Attorney General Peterson said. “In this case, Honda’s inaction endangered the public, and for that, they must be held accountable.”

The participating attorneys general have alleged that Honda engineers suspected that the propellant, ammonium nitrate, in the airbags could burn aggressively and cause the inflator to burst. Despite these concerns, Honda delayed warning consumers or automobile safety officials, even as it began partial recalls of affected vehicles in 2008 and 2009.  Further, despite these concerns, Honda continued to represent to consumers that its vehicles, including its airbags, were safe.  Since 2008, Honda has recalled approximately 12.9 million Honda and Acura vehicles nationwide – including 62,220 vehicles in Nebraska – equipped with the suspected faulty airbag systems. Of those 62,220 recalled Honda and Acura vehicles in Nebraska, 11,219 remain unrepaired.

Under the terms of the settlement, Honda has agreed to make several changes to ensure the safety of future airbag designs while making critical improvements to risk management, quality control, supplier oversight, and whistleblower protections.  Honda also will pay the attorneys general just over $85 million. Nebraska will receive $1,088,485 of that amount.

Joining Attorney General Peterson in this settlement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Consumers who own a Honda or Acura vehicle are strongly encouraged to visit Honda’s airbag recall website at https://hondaairbaginfo.com, or call its Customer Service toll-free number at (888) 234-2138, to see if their vehicle is subject to a recall. Consumers may also check for open recalls by going to Safercar.gov. All safety recall repairs are FREE at authorized Honda dealers.