Section 47a-4a

Citation: Section 47a-4a
Parent Document: Eamiello v. Liberty Mobile Home Sales, Inc., 208 Conn. 620 (1988)
Jurisdiction: Connecticut (state)
Effective Date: 1988-08-16
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/7893279/eamiello-v-liberty-mobile-home-... ↗

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*654None of the cases relied upon by the plaintiffs, however, has addressed whether a finding of an “unfair or deceptive” act or practice may be based upon the failure to comply with a statute the constitutionality of which is being contested when there are reasonable grounds for making a constitutional challenge that ultimately proves unsuccessful. In this case the defendant relied in large measure upon the recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Hall v. Santa Barbara, supra, which does lend some support for its claim that § 21-79 is unconstitutional. Our conclusion that Hall is distinguishable and not sufficiently persuasive does not mean that there was no substantial basis for the defendant’s challenge. Although the subjective good faith of one who has in fact performed an unfair or deceptive act is not a defense to a CUTPA violation, there is nothing unfair or deceptive in a reasonably grounded constitutional challenge of a statute. We do not believe that the legislature intended that the penalties authorized by CUTPA should be imposed upon those who have a reasonable basis for claiming that their constitutional rights have been violated and thus discourage them from asserting their rights. Whether there is such a reasonable basis is, of course, a question of law. In the present case, we have concluded that there was sufficient merit to the defendant’s claim of unconstitutionality as to preclude a finding that its assertion was unfair or deceptive.

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