NJCFA: Will This Finally Be The Year For Change?
November 4, 2015
The Barrister
Types : Bylined Articles
New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1, et seq. (“NJCFA”), is among our country’s most aggressive. Cooper v. Samsung, 374 Fed. Appx. 250, 256 (3d Cir. 2010). Indeed, our legislature intended it to “be one of the strongest consumer protection laws in the nation” (New Mea Constr. Corp. v. Harper, 203 N.J. Super. 486, 501-502 (App. Div. 1985); Cox v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 138 N.J. 2 (1994)), and our Supreme Court has directed that the CFA must be construed liberally in favor of consumers (Allen v. V and A Bros, Inc., 414 N.J. Super. 152, 156 (App. Div. 2010)). Some of its key provisions make New Jersey fertile ground for consumer protection class actions: i.e., its definition of “consumer” includes both individuals and businesses; and treble damages and attorneys’ fees for successful plaintiffs are mandatory (N.J.S.A. 56:8-1(d) and 56:8-19).
Over the years though, various attempts have been made to temper the NJCFA’s bite. Where do those efforts stand today? Well, not exactly where your business clients may have hoped.
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