133 WEST MAIN STREET REALTY, LLC v. ALLEN KIMBALL & Another (2025)

Citation: 133 WEST MAIN STREET REALTY, LLC v. ALLEN KIMBALL & Another (2025)
Parent Document: 133 WEST MAIN STREET REALTY, LLC v. ALLEN KIMBALL & Another (2025)
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts (state)
Effective Date: 2025-02-14
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10333571/133-west-main-street-realty-ll... ↗

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General Laws c. 93A, § 2,
proscribes "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any
trade or commerce."  Although the
statute does not specifically define the phrase "in the conduct of any
trade or commerce," the Supreme Judicial Court has explained that it
"must be read to apply to those acts or practices which are perpetrated in
a business context."  Lantner v.
Carson, 374 Mass. 606, 611 (1978).  See
Sullivan v. Five Acres Realty Trust, 487 Mass. 64, 69 (2021), quoting Lantner,
supra at 607-608, 611 ("trade or commerce" provision of G. L.
c. 93A, § 2, "is intended to apply to individuals acting in a
business context and is therefore not applicable 'where the transaction is
strictly private in nature, and is in no way undertaken in the ordinary course
of a trade or business'").[7] 
Whether the conduct at issue occurred in a business context "must
be determined from the facts of each case" and requires a court to
"examine the nature of the transaction, the character of the parties involved,
and the activities engaged in by the parties."  Billings v. Wilson, 397 Mass. 614, 616
(1986).  Ultimately, where the landlord
is "in the trade or business of providing rental housing, G. L.
c. 93A is implicated."  Poncz
v. Loftin, 34 Mass. App. Ct. 909, 910 (1993). 
Chapter 93A "may apply in some cases where the transaction does not
concern the principal business of the defendant"; however, courts
"should [also] examine whether the transaction is motivated by business or
personal reasons."  Billings, supra.

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