Section 2

Citation: Section 2
Parent Document: Highgate Housing Limited Partnership v. Macaulay-Fisher (2015)
Jurisdiction: Vermont (state)
Effective Date: 2015-08-11
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4489499/highgate-housing-limited-partne... ↗

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Defendants argue the Consumer Protection Act as an affirmative defense to liability.
Assuming without deciding that the Act may function as an affirmative defense in a case where
Defendants may not raise it as a counterclaim, the court nevertheless perceives no basis for
relief. There is no question that the Act applies to the landlord–tenant relationship. Bisson v.
Ward, 160 Vt. 343, 350 (1993). However, this does not mean that any dispute arising out of a
rental agreement is consumer fraud. The Vermont Supreme Court has made clear that the Act
“is concerned with the contents of advertisements and offers—that is, elements of contract
formation—and not conduct that is in breach of an existing contract. We have cautioned against
confusing principles of contract with principles of fraud so that the elements of fraud are made
out by a mere breach of contract.” Winey v. William E. Dailey, Inc., 161 Vt. 129, 136 (1993)
(emphasis added). In this case, the parties’ contract is extremely complex and neither side
performed according to its precise terms. There are no additional circumstances exhibiting
fraud.

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