Bill > A2796

Introduced Session

This bill makes various revisions to the New Jersey consumer fraud act. Under current law, when a violation of the consumer fraud act is found to have occurred, the court is required to award threefold the damages sustained by any person in interest and attorneys' fees. This bill gives the court discretion in awarding damages, which would not be permitted to exceed threefold the actual damages sustained by the consumer. The bill provides that purely technical violations of the act do not allow for an award of attorneys' fees, filing fees and costs. The bill also provides that the plaintiff, in order to succeed in a consumer fraud action, must have been aware of, and relied to his detriment on, the use or employment of the unlawful method, act or practice. The bill also requires that a consumer serve a written demand on the seller for the seller to make the consumer whole, before filing suit. In addition, the bill provides that the consumer fraud act applies only to New Jersey residents or transactions that take place within the State. The bill also provides that the consumer fraud act would not apply to actions or transactions otherwise permitted or regulated by the Federal Trade Commission or any other regulatory body or officer acting under statutory authority of this State or the United States.

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Jay Webber (R)*,  Gail Phoebus (R),  Parker Space (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee (on 02/08/2016)