Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA)
Collected Statutes, Court Decisions and Articles on Consumer Protection
The Consumer Protection Act declares unlawful unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce. RCW 19.86.020. A private plaintiff must prove five elements: (1) unfair or deceptive act or practice; (2) occurring in trade or commerce; (3) public interest impact; (4) injury to plaintiff in his or her business or property; (5) causation. Hangman Ridge Training Stables v. Safeco Title Ins. Co., 105 Wn.2d 778, 780, 719 P.2d 531 (1986).
WA Consumer Protection Cases
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Debt collection is subject to the CPA (Stevens v Omni Insurance - Div. I 2007)
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Violation of legal ethics can be a CPA violation by Lawyer (Cotton v Kronengerg) WA App 4/02
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Negligence and incompetence of professionals not a CPA violation (Haberman v WPPSS)
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Title Company giving legal advice - Lead case defining CPA violations (Hangman Ridge) WA SC 5/86
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"Universal" remote control not CPA violation (Hertzog v Web TV) unpublished WA App 7/02
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Statute of Limitations - discovery rule (Criss v Ehrsam) WA App 12/00
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Class Action - Treble damages - discovery sanctions-attorney fees (Smith v Behr) WA-App 9/02
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Substantial Compliance with licensing statute sufficient WA SC 9/02