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Alloway v. General Marine Industries6/30/1997
nd to codify in the Law all common-law remedies, see Senate Judiciary Committee Statement, Senate, No. 2805, L. 1987, c. 197. Consequently, the exclusion of physical damage from harm that falls within the Law is not dispositive.
Additionally, the Legislature has adopted the Consumer Fraud Act, which provides generous protection to defrauded consumers. N.J.S.A. 58:6-1 to -20; see, e.g., Perth Amboy Iron Works v. American Home Assurance Co., 226 N.J. Super. 200, 226-27, 543 A.2d 1020 (App. Div. 1988), aff'd o.b. 118 N.J. 249 (1990) (holding that commercial buyer of yacht could maintain Consumer Fraud Act and common-law fraud claims based on economic loss); Coastal Group v. Dryvit Sys., 274 N.J. Super. 171, 177-79, 643 A.2d 649 (App. Div. 1994) (finding commercial party could bring Consumer Fraud Act claims).
In 1971, the New Jersey Legislature amended the Consumer Fraud Act to authorize a private cause of action by an injured party for a violation of the Act. L. 1971, c. 247 § 7, codified at N.J.S.A. 56:8-19. Included in the conduct prohibited by the Consumer Fraud Act is:
The act, use or employment by any person of any unconscionable commercial practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise . . . .
[N.J.S.A. 56:8-2.]
Another statute, the Truth-In-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (the "Act"), N.J.S.A. 56:12-1 to -18, protects consumers by requiring that consumer contracts be clearly written and understandable. For example, if a seller violates the Act and "the violation caused the consumer to be substantially confused about the rights, obligations for remedies of the contract," the seller is liable to the consumer for actual damages, punitive damages up to $50, and reasonable attorney fees not to exceed $2500. N.J.S.A. 56:12-3. A court, moreover, may reform a consumer contract if a notice provision of the contract violates the Act and the violation substantially confused and caused financial detriment to the consumer. N.J.S.A. 56:12-4.1. The Act further prohibits limitations on warranties that "violate any clearly established legal right of the consumer or responsibility of a seller." N.J.S.A. 56:12-15. An aggrieved consumer may seek a civil penalty of not less than $100, actual damages, or both, together with attorneys fees and court costs. N.J.S.A. 56:12-17.
Congress has provided further protection for consumers. For example, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act authorizes a suit for damages for breach of implied warranties, including "an implied warranty arising under state law . . . in connection with the sale by a supplier of a consumer product." 15 U.S.C.A. § 2301(7). Thus, the Act offers consumers a basis in federal law for recovering damages. 15 U.S.C.A. § 2301(b)(1). A consumer may bring an action against a "supplier, warrantor, or service contractor" on any "written guarantee, implied warranty or service contract." Dreier, Goldman & Katz, New Jersey Products Liability & Toxic Torts Law 689 (1996 ed.). The Act also limits the types of disclaimers that sellers and others may place on warranties. 15 U.S.C.A. § 2308.
In sum, judicial decisions and statutory enactments, including the U.C.C., protect consumers from overreaching. Against this background, a tort cause of action for economic loss duplicating the one provided by the U.C.C. is superfluous and counterproductive.
III.
Here, plaintiffs seek the lost value on trade-in and the costs of
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