Orlando Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act Attorney

Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (or DUTPA) provides consumers and businesses protection from unscrupulous types of conduct in the transaction of business.  DUTPA prohibits “unfair methods of competition, unconscionable acts or practices, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.”  Fla. Stat. sect. 501.204(1).  The Florida Attorney General’s Office is the “enforcing authority” for the statute, and it is often used to investigate and file civil claims against the perpetrators of pyramid schemes, telephone scams, false advertising, and similar claims. The Act also gives consumers and businesses the ability to sue offending people and businesses in a private lawsuit.

What is a Deceptive Act or Unfair Trade Practice?

An action for violation of the Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act requires that the Plaintiff’s attorney prove: 

1. A deceptive act or unfair practice;  
2. Causation; and 
3. Actual damages.

So exactly what qualifies as a deceptive or unfair trade practice?  Florida courts and DUTPA lawyers have determined that a deceptive act is an act that is “likely to mislead a consumer.”  A claim under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act does not require that the injured party relied on the deception or misinformation, unlike a claim for fraud. The Act only requires an objective standard, that is, would the act deceive a consumer who was acting reasonably under the same circumstances? An unfair trade practice is offensive to established public policy, or as one court put it, is “immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous or substantially injurious to consumers.”

Although the DUTPA does not define any specific deceptive acts or unfair trade practices, it does look to the federal FTC act for guidance, which does list some specifics, including: 

1. false advertising,  
2. false labels on products,  
3. deceptive car buying practices,  
4. ID theft, and 
5. internet and telemarketing scams