Senior Partner
Consumer fraud can happen to anyone—whether through misleading advertising, hidden fees, or other deceptive business practices. Deceptive businesses often collect small amounts of money from numerous consumers because they assume consumers will not bother to enforce their rights over small amounts.
To encourage consumers to protect the public, Washington provides added benefits for pursuing claims under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and class action laws. Here’s what you need to know about your rights and options.
Do I have a Consumer Protection Act Claim?
The CPA protects consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices that affect the public interest, which encompasses a wide range of conduct. The law is interpreted broadly to safeguard the public and ensure fair business practices. For example, you do not need to have paid the deceptive company to have a claim. It can be enough that you had to spend time or money investigating the deception. If you have been injured in your “business or property” due to deceptive conduct by a business that does or can affect others, you can most likely bring a CPA claim.
What Can I Recover Under the Consumer Protection Act?
The CPA allows you to recover:
- Actual damages to business or property, which includes money, opportunity cost, property damage, expenses, and similar harms. It does not include physical or emotional injuries or damages caused by them like medical bills.
- Treble damages—up to three times actual damages, capped at $25,000.
- Attorney’s fees and costs, which is a significant factor that allows these types of cases to be pursued even if the damages are relatively small.
Why Should I Bring a Claim Under the Consumer Protection Act?
A consumer bringing a CPA claim in Washington acts as a “private attorney general,” meaning your claim vindicates and protects the public similar to how the Attorney General’s Office brings claims against deceptive businesses. That is why consumers may also seek an injunction to prohibit companies from carrying on deceptive practices. These rights and public policies also fit perfectly with consumer class actions.
Why Should I Bring a Consumer Protection Class Action?
Consumer fraud often affects dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people. Many such claims involve smaller dollar amounts that many cannot pursue on their own. To make it worthwhile for consumers and protect the public, Washington has strong public policy favoring Consumer Protection Act class actions.
A consumer class action benefits both the consumer and the public. It:
- Permits smaller claims to be brought efficiently, economically, and with less burden to class members;
- Reduces or eliminates attorney’s fees and costs to each class member;
- Promotes more complete accountability and deterrence; and
- Strengthens bargaining power against deceptive companies.
The CPA and class action often go hand-in-hand because CPA claims must “affect the public interest,” i.e. have the potential injure others, and class actions involve potential injury to others. By bringing a consumer class action, you help protect members of the public who are unable to protect themselves.
How Does a Class Action Work in Washington State?
The plaintiffs (ones asserting claims) in class action lawsuit are known as class representatives. They file a lawsuit stating their intent to act on behalf of the class of “similarly situated” people, i.e. those who have been wronged in a similar way.
Even though you file the case as a “putative” class action, it still needs to be certified by a judge before it becomes a certified class action. The parties file briefs regarding whether and how the case should be certified. Issues relating to class certification are complex but generally revolve around four principles: numerosity of class members, commonality of claims, typicality of those claims, and adequacy of representation.
Sometimes only some issues are certified—this is known as an “issue class.” Sometimes there are subclasses—smaller groups whose claims are similar but different enough to be set out as separate groups.
You can learn more about class actions in Washington from our court rule, Civil Rule 23.
If you or someone you know may be interested in filing a consumer class action lawsuit in Washington, please contact us for a free consultation.