WV High Court OKs Use Of Misrepresentations Where Plaintiff Fails To Prove Reliance On Bad Acts In Suits Brought Under State Consumer Protection Law

In Charleston, West Virginia, The West Virginia Record reports:

• West Virginia consumers looking to sue for misrepresentation under the state's Consumer Credit and Protection Act now must show proof of reliance, according to an opinion released Friday by the state Supreme Court of Appeals. Previously, state consumers only had to prove misrepresentation to seek damages. Following the Court's ruling in White vs. Wyeth, plaintiffs now must show a causal connection between their individual claims of injury and any alleged unfair or deceptive conduct.

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• Justice Thomas McHugh, who authored the Court's opinion, wrote that the Court did its own study of other states. Its research revealed that the private cause of action provisions of 28 states contain the "as a result of" language. Eleven states and the District of Columbia, it said, have statutes containing the "whether or not any person has in fact been misled, deceived or damaged" language. Only five states have both statutory provisions, it found.(1)

• "Our review of the diverse cases and numerous authorities addressing the issue of reliance in the context of private consumer protection causes of action leads us to the conclusion that courts are struggling to arrive at a way to be faithful to the purposes of consumer protection statutes -- promoting fair and honest business practices and protecting consumers -- without inviting nuisance lawsuits which impede commerce," McHugh wrote for the Court.

• "In determining the meaning of the phrase 'as a result of' in the WVCCPA, we find the decisions from other jurisdictions which are most reasonable, practical and fair to all relevant purposes and interests are those which have concluded that proof of a causal nexus between the deceptive conduct giving rise to the private cause of action and the ascertainable loss may require proof of reliance in some but not all instances."

For more, see Supreme Court tightens control on consumer protection act.

For the ruling, see White vs. Wyeth, No. 35296 (W.Va. December 17, 2010).

(1) See generally, Consumer Protection In The States: A 50-State Report on Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Statutes for a survey on the various state consumer protection statutes throughout the U.S.