For Massachusetts car accident lawyers, Massachusetts’ Consumer Protection Act, M.G.L. c. 93A, is a powerful legal tool that allows the Attorney General and consumers to take action against unfair or deceptive conduct in the marketplace.
The Consumer Protection Act allows lawsuits against unfair or deceptive acts or practices taken against consumers. While the Attorney General may enforce these claims for the public interest, their limited time and resources prevent them for investigating most of the complaints they receive. To make sure it is enforced, the statute allows consumers to bring private lawsuits. That said, businesses and people working on behalf of business cannot. Transamerica Ins. Group v. Turner Construction Co., 33 Mass. App. Ct. 446 (1992).
To bring a Chapter 93A claim, a consumer must send a demand letter to the offending business at least thirty days before filing a court action. The letter must identify yourself, describe the unfair or deceptive act or practice you believe is at issue, and identify the injury you suffered. The business then has thirty days to provide a prompt, fair, and equitable settlement of your claims before you are allowed to take legal action against it. Otherwise, your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer may seek three times the amount of damages you would ordinarily have received in bringing your lawsuit.
Chapter 93A is helpful in negotiating a settlement. When an insurance company does not make "prompt, fair and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear," it violates M.G.L.c. 176D§3(9)(b) in committing an unfair claim settlement practice. This kind of unfair claim settlement practice violates Chapter 93A and can subject an insurance company to the threat of triple damages. Fascione v. CNA Ins. Co., 435 Mass. 88, 94 (2001).
If you have suffered a car accident or other type of personal injury, it is wise to seek assistance from a Massachusetts personal injury attorney before sending an insurance company a Chapter 93A demand letter. First of all, your letter must satisfy the requirements the Consumer Protection Act to allow you to file a lawsuit for triple damages. In Kanamaru v Holyoke Mutual Ins. Co., 72 Mass. App. Ct. 396 (2008), for example, Kanamaru’s letter seeking settlement of an uninsured motorist claim did not make a c. 93A claim. Because of this failure, and Kanamaru’s failure to send a correct letter before suing the insurance company, Kanamaru lost the opportunity to seek triple damages in his claim. In addition to making sure you satisfy the provisions of c. 93A, an experienced lawyer can help limit the chance the information you provide will hurt you later in court.
