Pub. 12 2013-2014 Issue 4

N e w J e r s e y C o a l i t i o n O f A u t o m o t i v e R e t a i l e r s W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 28 new jersey auto retailer Legislation To Reform Consumer Laws Likely To Come Before The Legislature In 2014 By Marvin J. Brauth, Esq. O nly the luckiest automotive retailers have managed to avoid facing a lawsuit or arbitration (perhaps, even a class action) under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”) or Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Notice and Warranty Act (“TCCWNA”). Automotive retailers are not alone in this regard, though. Lawsuits under the CFA and TCCWNA have become so common, and so expensive to resolve, that amending these statutes has become a major focus of New Jersey’s business community. In 2014, a major push is expected on behalf of a host of businesses and business organizations to see amendments to these laws enacted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. Given the cost of these laws to the automotive retailer community, dealers are well advised to stay on top of this legislative activity and lend their support. While many provisions of the CFA and TCCWNA are troublesome, there are several that skew business –consumer dealings toward litigation and make that litigation extremely (and sometimes prohibitively) expensive for businesses. For example, reliance by the consumer on an alleged wrongful act need not be proven by the consumer for a business to be found liable. Thus, an advertisement that is inaccurate or fails to contain some required words can be the basis of a lawsuit even if the consumer did not rely