Actions by State attorneys general

Any attorney general of a State may bring a civil action in the name of such State, as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in such State, in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the defendant, to secure monetary relief as provided in this section for injury sustained by such natural persons to their property by reason of any violation of sections 1 to 7 of this title. The court shall exclude from the amount of monetary relief awarded in such action any amount of monetary relief (A) which duplicates amounts which have been awarded for the same injury, or (B) which is properly allocable to (i) natural persons who have excluded their claims pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of this section, and (ii) any business entity.

( Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, § 4C , as added Pub. L. 94–435, title III, § 301 , Sept. 30, 1976 , 90 Stat. 1394 ; amended Pub. L. 96–349, § 4(a)(3) , Sept. 12, 1980 , 94 Stat. 1157 .)