S. State Attorney General Enforcement and Nationwide Torts

This course is designed to introduce students to how state Attorneys General exercise their civil enforcement powers to address corporate wrongdoing at national scale. Relying in part on the recent opioid litigation brought by states, cities and counties as a case study, the course will examine the possibilities and obstacles that confront AGs determined to achieve meaningful results for their residents and communities. The course material includes investigative and case-building strategies employed by AG offices; how federalism concerns – “upwards” toward the federal government and “downwards” toward political subdivisions – are navigated; the substantive development of public nuisance law; how AGs collaborate, and at times compete, with other states and litigants; and how these cases get aggregated (or not) in class actions, MDL proceedings and even bankruptcy court on the road to global resolution.