The Connecticut Unfair Industry Practices Act is 50 years previous this month, and it’s neatly price celebrating.
CUTPA basically altered the connection between customers and companies, and inspired truthful pageant between and a few of the industry group. The legislation was once enacted by way of the Connecticut legislature in 1973. It was once designed to be, and has in reality served as, a guardrail in opposition to unhealthy industry habits for those previous 50 years. CUTPA enacted a vast remedial framework now not most effective to keep treatments to be had below commonplace legislation, but in addition to create further bases for characterizing habits as unfair and/or misleading.
Whilst virtually each and every state has some type of an unfair industry practices act, Connecticut’s is among the extra revolutionary. The major explanation why is that CUTPA is determined by what is known as the “Cigarette Rule” for figuring out what habits could also be correctly regarded as to be unfair. (Connecticut is certainly one of simply 16 states to take action.)
This rule is expansive and malleable, taking into account restoration from a defendant if habits (1) offends public coverage; (2) is immoral, unethical, oppressive or unscrupulous; and/or (3) reasons really extensive harm to customers (or competition). All 3 standards don’t wish to be happy to enhance a discovering of unfairness. A convention could also be unfair as a result of the stage to which it meets one of the vital standards or as a result of to a lesser extent it meets all 3. CUTPA allows claims by way of one industry competitor in opposition to some other, and does now not require a appearing of client harm. Many states, against this, require a plaintiff to end up client harm and don’t permit for restoration below the primary two prongs of the Cigarette Rule, considerably narrowing the succeed in of the ones statutes.
CUTPA presents a prevailing birthday celebration expansive treatments which were woven into the material of Connecticut’s statutory protections. Underneath this legislation, a a hit plaintiff might get better compensatory and punitive damages in addition to legal professionals’ charges, litigation prices and injunctive aid.
At the moment greater than 95 different Connecticut statutes expressly supply {that a} violation of that statute constitutes a in step with se violation of CUTPA. Some examples come with the House Growth Contractors Act, Connecticut Unfair Gross sales Practices Act and the Lemon Regulation. This is, a contravention of the Lemon Regulation is a contravention of CUTPA.
There is also a rising frame of case legislation that gives that violation of an underlying statute constitutes violation of CUTPA even though now not expressly mentioned within the statute. One instance is that our courts have held {that a} violation of the Lanham Act for trademark infringement constitutes a contravention of CUTPA, making it more uncomplicated to get better legal professional’s charges and prices as the existing birthday celebration in a hallmark case.
An exhilarating side of CUTPA is that it’s repeatedly evolving with the days, together with to handle distinctive demanding situations offered by way of new applied sciences and converting societal prerequisites. A Connecticut Very best Courtroom resolution in 2019 (Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms World LLC, 331 Conn. 53) is illustrative of this evolution. Soto was once introduced by way of the directors of the estates of the fundamental college scholars and lecturers killed at Sandy Hook Fundamental College in opposition to the producers, vendors and dealers of the rifle used within the shootings. They claimed that defendants’ promoting inspired the gun violence. For the primary time, the court docket approved a case to continue the place the plaintiffs didn’t have an immediate industrial dating with the defendant – weren’t consumers or competition of the gun producers. In making use of CUTPA to the problem of gun violence, the court docket apparently opened the door to extra expansive packages of this legislation to fulfill different long run demanding situations.
On CUTPA’s jubilee, we must embody this piece of law that has labored as supposed. Our industry group and customers are higher for it.
Legal professional David A. Slossberg leads the industry litigation apply at Hurwitz, Sagarin, Slossberg & Knuff. He’s an writer of the definitive treatise on unfair industry practices in Connecticut. He will also be reached at dslossberg@hssklaw.com or 203-877-8000.
