In a trio of decisions, the New Jersey Supreme Court has clarified important aspects of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA). The court has now shed light on issues that arise when there is only a technical violation of the CFA, including when a plaintiff may be entitled to attorney fees in such a case. The court also better defined the concept of “ascertainable loss” under the CFA, and clarified various categories and types of damages that are available under the act.

Technical Violations and Ascertainable Loss

In Perez v. Professionally Green, 215 N.J. 388 (2013), Alex and Cathy Perez filed suit against several defendants, including Swim-Well Pools, arising out of an allegedly defective swimming pool installation. In their complaint, the Perezes asserted that Swim-Well violated the CFA by, among other things, failing to include the start and end dates in the pool-construction contract—a technical violation of the CFA. The Perezes moved for partial summary judgment, and notably, Swim-Well did not cross-move for summary judgment. On the motion, the trial court concluded that Swim-Well committed a technical violation of the CFA by failing to include the relevant dates in the contract, but it also concluded there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Perezes suffered an “ascertainable loss” as a result of that technical violation. As such, the case proceeded to trial.

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