CONSUMER FRAUD LAWYER IN BERGEN AND PASSAIC COUNTIES: THE NEED FOR SPECIFICITY IN PLEADING A CONSUMER FRAUD CASE

While New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) is considered to be one of the broadest consumer protection laws in the country, a number of courts are requiring CFA claimants to specifically plead the major elements of their theory of liability.  Those elements include an unlawful practice under the CFA, an ascertainable loss and a causal relationship between the unlawful practice and the ascertainable loss. 

Two recent decisions from the Federal District Court in New Jersey have indicated that CFA complaints will be reviewed with rather close scrutiny to make sure that the allegations are particularly identified in such a way as to allow the court an opportunity to determine whether there is a legitimate claim under the CFA.

The core of the courts’ decisions were grounded upon a rule that specifically requiring allegations of fraud to be stated with particularity in a complaint.  New Jersey’s state court rules has a similar provision.