Bill > A886

Introduced Session

This bill establishes certain requirements for asserting a personal cause of action under the consumer fraud act (CFA) and limits the awarding of attorneys' fees. Under the bill, a person seeking to recover damages for a violation of the CFA is required to establish that: (1) the person acted as a reasonable consumer would under the circumstances; (2) the method, act, or practice alleged to be unlawful would cause a reasonable person to act in a manner substantially similar to those which resulted in damages; and (3) the person suffered actual damages supported by sufficiently definitive and objective evidence to allow the loss to be calculated with a reasonable degree of certainty. In addition, the bill provides that a court may dismiss a claim as a matter of law if the claim fails to demonstrate a likelihood that the method, act, or practice alleged to be unlawful under the CFA would mislead a reasonable consumer. Under the bill, any attorneys' fees awarded for a violation of the CFA are required to bear a reasonable relationship to the monetary amount of the judgment. The bill provides that when the judgment grants equitable relief, as opposed to monetary damages, attorneys' fees are to be based on the time reasonably expended. The sponsor intends this bill to provide greater protections for businesses and prevent the filing of lawsuits when a consumer has not suffered actual harm. In addition, the sponsor believes that this bill will reduce litigation arising from alleged technical violations of the CFA where a business has not committed fraud.

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Vicky Flynn (R)*,  Gerry Scharfenberger (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document