Unfair Business
The Consumer Protection Act is an invaluable tool in the fight for consumer rights. The Consumer Protection Act prohibits business practices which are “unfair” or “deceptive” and which injure a person’s property or business. (RCW 19.86).
The term “unfair” is interpreted broadly. Therefore, this statute has been utilized to correct a variety of unfair business acts that have injured consumers. The Act also allows for an award of attorney’s fees, costs, and three times your actual damages. The act states:
Any person who is injured in his or her business or property by a violation…may bring a civil action in the superior court to enjoin further violations, to recover the actual damages sustained by him or her, or both, together with the costs of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee, and the court may in its discretion, increase the award of damages to an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages sustained: PROVIDED, That such increased damage award for violation of RCW 19.86.020 may not exceed ten thousand dollars.
If you have been injured by a business’s unfair act, you should contact an attorney to protect your rights.