In Kirby v. Mousis, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed judgment for the defendants on the plaintiffs’ Chapter 93A, § 11 claim and reinforced that failed business ventures and unmet funding promises generally do not, without more, constitute “unfair or deceptive” conduct under the statute. The dispute arose from an effort to expand a gaming-terminal
In Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency v. Bass, the Land Court rejected the defendants’ belated attempt to assert claims under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A against Mass Housing, concluding that the allegations failed as a matter of law and would not survive a motion to dismiss.
The court treated the Chapter 93A theory as substantively
In Massachusetts business litigation, Chapter 93A claims often trail behind an ordinary breach of contract claim. Typically, however, a mere breach of contract claim does not give rise to a Chapter 93A claim. In order to do so, a party must allege and ultimately prove more than a simple breach of contract. The conduct alleged
MCR Labs, Inc., a cannabis testing laboratory, sued Analytics Labs, LLC (and others) under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, Section 11 for allegedly falsely reporting elevated “THC Potency Levels” and lower cannabis contamination or “fail” rates to lure MCR’s customers away. According to MCR, based on the defendants’ unfair or deceptive practices, MCR’s business was severely
A recent U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts decision sheds light on the limits of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, the state’s unfair and deceptive trade practices statute, as applied to nonprofit educational institutions.
In High Expectations LLC v. KPCA Northwestern Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the plaintiff, High Expectations LLC – a Massachusetts-based
The Massachusetts Attorney General issued new regulations labeled “Unfair and Deceptive Fees” that take effect on Sept. 2, 2025. We review the regulations, including their scope, what practices are deemed unfair or deceptive, and how the regulations relate to other laws, including similar laws and regulations from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and in other states that a business must consider when conducting business outside of Massachusetts.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Tightens Chapter 93A Consumer Protections with ‘Junk Fee’ and Negative Option Regulations
In Zamani v. SharkNinja, Inc., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128075, the District Court concluded that a plaintiff’s Chapter 93A “omission” claim was not well-pleaded enough to survive a motion to dismiss based on hyperlinks that rebutted the alleged omission. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that the manufacturer violated Chapter 93A by failing to disclose that
The Massachusetts Appeals Court, in Stranberg v. Cooperative Bank, recently concluded that “every deal that goes sour does not give rise to a c. 93A claim.” A prophetic conclusion indeed, as Chapter 93A claims seem to be added to most consumer-based lawsuits. Here, the underlying dispute arose from a proposed commercial loan that did not
In Royal v. Metcalf, the Massachusetts Superior Court entered summary judgment under Chapter 93A for the plaintiff (an alleged debtor) against the defendant (the owner of a company engaged in the business of collecting debts). According to the undisputed facts, the owner, without possessing chain-of-title evidence to prove ownership of the debt, filed a
In Bucci v. Campbell, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, in a summary decision, clarified standards that govern a trial court’s conclusions about whether acts or practices are unfair or deceptive under Chapter 93A, Section 2.
The underlying case concerned whether the defendants had breached a contract with the plaintiffs by failing to install a natural