 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Macomber v. Travelers Property and Casualty Corp.9/3/2002
Turning first to the issue of a consumer relationship, '' e previously have stated in no uncertain terms that CUTPA imposes no requirement of a consumer relationship. In McLaughlin Ford, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 192 Conn. 558, 473 A.2d 1185 (1984), we concluded that CUTPA is not limited to conduct involving consumer injury and that a competitor or other business person can maintain a CUTPA cause of action without showing consumer injury.'' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Fink v. Golenbock, 238 Conn. 183, 215, 680 A.2d 1243 (1996). Despite this pronouncement, the defendants cite to language quoted in Jackson v. R. G. Whipple, Inc., 225 Conn. 705, 727, 627 A.2d 374 (1993), that '' 'a claimant under CUTPA must possess at least some type of consumer relationship with the party who allegedly caused harm to him or to her.' '' We clarified this language, however, in Larsen Chelsey Realty Co. v. Larsen, 232 Conn. 480, 495-96, 656 A.2d 1009 (1995), stating: ''Although we acknowledge the presence of dicta in Jackson pertaining to consumer relationships, our holding in that case was merely that allowing a plaintiff to sue her opponent's attorney under CUTPA would infringe on the attorney-client relationship.'' We then went on to reaffirm our position that a consumer relationship is not a prerequisite to having standing to assert a CUTPA violation. Id., 496. Accordingly, we reject the defendants' contention that a consumer relationship is a prerequisite for maintaining a CUTPA cause of action.
The defendants claim, alternatively, that the CUPTA count was not pleaded with sufficient particularity. They argue, specifically, that the plaintiffs' allegation that the '' ' efendants used and employed unfair and deceptive acts and practices in connection with the solicitation and entering into of structured settlements in connection with the sale of annuities' '' was insufficient for this court to evaluate the legal theory behind this claim. We disagree.
'' n determining whether a practice violates CUTPA we have adopted the criteria set out in the cigarette rule by the federal trade commission for determining when a practice is unfair: (1) hether the practice, without necessarily having been previously considered unlawful, offends public policy as it has been established by statutes, the common law, or otherwise--in other words, it is within at least the penumbra of some common law, statutory, or other established concept of unfairness; (2) whether it is immoral, unethical, oppressive, or unscrupulous; (3) whether it causes substantial injury to consumers, [competitors or other businesspersons]. . . . All three criteria do not need to be satisfied to support a finding of [a violation of CUTPA].'' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Hartford Electric Supply Co. v. Allen-Bradley Co., 250 Conn. 334, 367-68, 736 A.2d 824 (1999). The defendants make no claim that the plaintiffs' allegations, if taken as true, fail to satisfy this test. Rather, the defendants suggest that, because the plaintiffs, in count four of their complaint, did not rephrase their pleadings to conform to the three prongs of the cigarette rule, we should consider their CUTPA cause of action as factually unsupportable. We are unpersuaded that there is any special requirement of pleading particularity connected with a CUTPA claim, over and above any other claim. We, therefore, reject this contention of the defendants.
E. Count Five
In count five, the plaintiffs' alleged that the defendants committed unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the solicitation of and sale of annuities under CUIPA. In their complaint, the plaintiffs pleaded their CUIPA allegation as a stand alone claim. In their brief to this court, however,
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Connecticut Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|