Beatrice June Collins (June), 97, of Lancaster, PA passed away on June 14, 2021 in her home at Willow Valley Retirement Community. June was born in Lancaster, PA and a
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Thursday, May 6, 2021
In 1999, Gary and Mary Gregg enlisted the services of Robert A. Kovalchik, a financial advisor and insurance salesperson for Ameriprise Financial, Inc. As a result of misrepresentations made by Mr. Kovalchik, the Greggs ultimately filed suit against him and Ameriprise alleging – among other claims – an Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (“UTPCPL”) claim.
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It’s important to understand that a UTPCPL claim has teeth because – unlike common law claims – it allows for the recovery of attorney’s fees and treble damages. See Earl v. NVR, Inc., trading as Heartland Homes of PA: Werwinski is Dead. The UTPCPL is applicable to most consumer transactions including automobile transactions, home improvement contracts, home purchases, insurance contracts, leases, and service contracts.
Takeaways:
Plaintiffs claiming violations of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law are not required to prove that the defendant intended to deceive or defraud.
Companies doing business directly with consumers can be held strictly liable for deceptive sales practices even when the alleged misrepresentations were unintentional or negligent.
In a decision likely to have broad ramifications for consumer protection claims in Pennsylvania, our Supreme Court has ruled that plaintiffs claiming violations of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law are not required to prove that the defendant intended to deceive or defraud. The Court’s 4-3 majority ruling in
[co-author: Michael Ingram]
We regularly tell clients that intent is meaningless when it comes to deception under Section 5 of the FTC Act. And that’s true (or we wouldn’t say it). But fewer people realize that it’s not necessarily true when it comes to a minority of the states. As of a couple weeks ago, however, that number has shrunk by one, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In
Gregg et al. v. Ameriprise Financial Inc. et al., the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (CPL) does not require a showing of intent to hold defendants liable. This 4-3 decision, which was nearly 20 years in the making, makes clear that the statute functions in a strict liability manner. There no longer needs to be a finding of fraud or negligence for a court to deem a business’s practices deceptive. This broadens the power of the law to regulate unscrupulous business practices.