Business Torts Litigation Committee | ABA Section of Litigation

We are one of the most active ABA committees, made up of experienced trial lawyers from all over the country. Our goal is to keep business litigators fully up to date in burgeoning business torts such as fiduciary duties, fraud, unfair trade practices, tortious interference, trademarks and trade secrets, remedies, and evidence, as well as technological issues and developments impacting our practice. We provide open access and networking with the best people in the field.

We regularly present excellent CLE programs, publish useful books and articles, hold substantive business meetings, and host the best social events (bar none). Our website provides case notes of recent litigation in business torts, an archive of past Business Torts Journal articles, and loads of other helpful information.

Do you want to network with the established up and comers of business tort litigation? Want to stay ahead of key developments? Want to be a key contributor in this community? Then join us.

Seeking Contributors to Our Website and Publications

The Business Torts Litigation Committee is seeking contributors to its website and publications. We solicit your help by providing us articles and reports on recent cases of interest that pertain to business torts litigation issues. We welcome any articles for either the web page or our journal. This is a great way to get involved, network with some of the best litigators in the country, and contribute to building a valuable resource for business torts litigators. If you have cases of interest, articles, or other resources to add to our website or printed newsletter, please contact Betsy Hyatt for website submissions and Tom Dye for journal submissions.

November 19, 2009, 1pm Eastern Time: Monthly Committee Conference Call
The Business Torts Litigation Committee will have its monthly Committee Conference Call on November 19, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. (EST). The purpose is to keep everyone informed of Committee activities between our in-person meetings. All are welcome to participate. If you would like to participate in November's call, please advise Committee Co-Chair Mark Davidson.

February 11-14, 2010, Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa, Rancho Mirage, California: Joint Meeting of the Business Torts Litigation and Corporate Counsel Committees.
This joint meeting is always one of the highlights of the year in terms of substantive programs, networking, and just plain fun. This is also an excellent opportunity to meet and mix with prominent general counsel from many Fortune 500 companies. Block the dates now so that you can join us in sunny Southern California in February.

» Click here for seminar brochure and registration materials

Business Torts Journal Newsletter: Fall 2009

The Fall 2009 edition of the Business Torts Journal newsletter is now available.

» View the Newsletter |

Little FTC Acts and Statutory Treble Damages—Traps for the Unwary

An overview of the award of statutory treble damage under state unfair trade practices law, including an analysis of various state standards. Approximately half of the states permit treble damage recovery, but the state standards for recovery vary significantly. The potential for treble damages and the related requisites should command the attention of practitioners who both prosecute and defend unfair trade practices claims.

Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices (hereinafter, "UDAP") laws prohibit deceptive practices in consumer transactions and, in many states, also prohibit unfair or unconscionable practices. By broadly prohibiting deception, rather than confining the prohibition to a closed list of deceptive tactics, states, like Massachusetts, are able to attack consumer transactions in a variety of settings. Recently, states' attorney generals have used the UDAP laws to halt foreclosures and to delay the selling or transferring of mortgages. How this is being done, and whether such actions are appropriate is the focus of this article.

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