No. 5-99-0830 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ... - Appellate.net

egulations. 29/ Other states permit such suits but prohibit plaintiffs from bringing a suit on
behalf of a class. See Ga. Code Ann. § 10-1-399(a); La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 51:1409(A); Miss.
Code Ann. § 75-24-15(4); Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-133(l); S.C. Code Ann. § 39-5-140(a).
And in some states, consumers are required to send demand letters to alleged violators as a
condition precedent to bringing a lawsuit. See, e.g., Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. §
17.505(a); Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-5; Miss. Code Ann. § 75-24-15(2) (requiring exhaustion of
alternative dispute resolution remedy).
The elements of consumer fraud claims also vary widely from state to state. Some
states do not require a plaintiff to prove that he relied on the allegedly deceptive statement.
See, e.g., Stephenson v. Capano Dev., Inc., 462 A.2d 1069, 1074 (Del. 1983). Other states,
however, do require proof of reliance. 30/
Some states require proof that the defendant made
the allegedly deceptive statements with scienter; others do not. Compare Or. Rev. Stat. §§
646.638(1), 646.605(10) (requiring willful intent to commit fraud) with Del. Code. tit. 6, §
2513(a) (scienter not required).
29/
Ala. Code § 8-19-7(3); O.K. Lumber Co. v. Providence Wash. Ins. Co., 759 P.2d 523,
528 (Alaska 1988); Ferguson v. United Ins. Co. of Am., 293 S.E.2d 736, 737 (Ga. App.
1982); Fla. Stat. Ann. § 501.212(4); Irwin Rogers Ins. Agency v. Murphy, 833 P.2d 128, 134
(Idaho App. 1992); Alarcon v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 538 So.2d 696, 699-700 (La. App.
1989); Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 13-104(l); Britton v. Farmers Ins. Group, 721 P.2d 303,
323-24 (Mont. 1986); State v. Piedmont Funding Corp., 382 A.2d 819 (R.I. 1978); Colonial
Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. American Family Life Assur. Co., 846 F. Supp. 454, 463 (D.S.C.
1994); Wilder v. Aetna Life & Cas. Ins. Co., 433 A.2d 309, 310 (Vt. 1981).
30/
E.g., Holeman v. Neils, 803 F. Supp. 237, 242 (D. Ariz. 1992); Lynas v. Williams,
454 S.E.2d 570, 574 (Ga. App. 1995); Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-4(a); Tex. Bus. & Com. Code
Ann. § 17.50(a); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-12-108(a). The states also differ with respect to the
degree of reliance plaintiffs must prove. Compare Taylor v. McCollom, 849 P.2d 1123, 1125
(Or. App. 1993), with Lynas, 454 S.E.2d at 574, and Holeman, 803 F. Supp. at 242.
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