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Knudsen files lawsuit against National Association of Attorneys General – Daily Montanan [1]

['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- June']

Date: 2023-06-13  

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is suing an organization led by fellow attorneys general from around the nation in state court, alleging that the National Association of Attorneys General is possibly investing Montana settlement money in ways that are against state law.

Knudsen, along with several other Republican state attorneys general, left the national organization during the past two years, but the majority of states’ attorneys general still retain membership in the organization, based in Washington D.C.

Even though Knudsen and other attorneys general left the organization, it continues to hold and manage settlement funds from litigation the national association waged on behalf of multiple states. For example, the National Association of Attorneys General has programs set up to invest and distribute funds related to an emissions scandal by German automaker Volkswagen, and has a different fund for those harmed by opioid manufacturers.

“It does not appear that the Legislature has granted the Department of Administration similar discretionary authority to authorize agency money to reside within an entity such as the NAAG,” the court filing said.

Knudsen argues in a court brief filed in Lewis and Clark District Court that the national association has failed to provide a detailed accounting of what portion of those settlements belong to Montana. In the court documents, the attorney general also argues that only the state’s designated board of investments has the power to manage money for state funds, and in any case, the national association holding those funds may run contrary to state law.

Finally, Knudsen also questions whether the national association has employed any ESG investing, which was outlawed by the legislature earlier this year. ESG, or Environmental, Social and Governance investing, are policies that have been used to encourage companies to act or invest in a more socially responsible way. But the movement, which has targeted a diverse range of publicly-traded businesses ranging from oil companies to firearm manufacturers, has drawn the fury of conservative politicians who say such maneuvers are evidence of “woke capitalism.”

Meanwhile, Knudsen and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte have rejected any push to enact ESG policies, arguing that Montana’s responsibility to manage its funds and money should only be about maximizing return on investments.

Montana’s Board of Investments, along with Gianforte, announced in January that it would “grow Montana’s wealth without bias and based solely on what is in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the assets we invest.”

Neither Knudsen’s office nor staff from the National Association of Attorneys General responded to questions from the Daily Montanan.

“In recent years, NAAG’s mission as a nonprofit has shifted from its original purpose – managing multistate investigations – to that of a taxpayer-funded advocacy group dedicated to generating lawsuits and massive returns in revenue,” wrote American Tort Reform Association President Tiger Joyce in a news release. “If things don’t change at NAAG, and they continue to act like a plaintiffs’ firm, it’s reasonable to expect more lawsuits and more members leaving their group.”

The American Tort Reform Association has promoted this lawsuit within its organization.

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/06/13/knudsen-files-lawsuit-against-national-association-of-attorneys-general/

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