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GENERAL BUSINESS LAW 349 RENDERS UNFAIR, DECEPTIVE OR ABUSIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES UNLAWFUL; THE STATUTE APPLIES ONLY TO CONSUMER ORIENTED CONDUCT; HERE THE DISPUTE OVER A PRIVATE INSURANCE CONTRACT FOR A RACING YACHT WAS NOT WITHIN THE AMBIT OF THE STATUTE (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the dispute about insurance coverage for a racing yacht was not the type of consumer-related activity to which General Business Law 349 applies:
General Business Law § 349(a) declares unlawful all “[u]nfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in this state” … . “To successfully assert a claim under General Business Law § 349(h), ‘a plaintiff must allege that a defendant has engaged in (1) consumer-oriented conduct that is (2) materially misleading and that (3) plaintiff suffered injury as a result of the allegedly deceptive act or practice'” … . “‘[P]arties claiming the benefit of [General Business Law § 349(h)] must, at the threshold, charge conduct that is consumer oriented'” … . “The conduct need not be repetitive or recurring but defendant’s acts or practices must have a broad impact on consumers at large” … . “Private contract disputes, unique to the parties, . . . [do] not fall within the ambit of the statute” … .
The plaintiff failed to allege that the defendant’s acts or practices had a broad impact on consumers at large, and the plaintiff did not assert any facts that would support such an allegation. The allegations in the complaint merely refer to a private contract dispute over the procurement of insurance coverage and the processing of a claim that is unique to these parties … . USMMA Sailing Found., Inc. v Hilb Group of N.Y., LLC, 2026 NY Slip Op 05824, Second Dept 10-7-26
Practice Point: Consult this decision for insight into the nature of “consumer oriented conduct” which is within the ambit of General Business Law 349.
CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST “BIG OIL” ALLEGING “GREENWASHING” IN VIOLATION OF NYC’S CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW PROPERLY DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Friedman, affirmed the dismissal of the “product greenwashing” and “corporate greenwashing” causes of action in a suit by the City of New York against Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Shell and BP. The opinion is a comprehensive discussion of the application of the City’s Consumer Protection Law (CPL) to the defendants’ claims re: the environmental benefits of fossil fuel products and the role of renewable energy in defendants’ businesses:
In this action, plaintiff City of New York alleges that defendant energy companies … have engaged in “deceptive . . . trade practice[s]” proscribed by the City’s Consumer Protection Law (CPL) (Administrative Code of the City of NY § 20-700 et seq.). The City’s first cause of action alleges that defendants violated the CPL “by misrepresenting the purported environmental benefits of using their fossil fuel products” — a practice referred to as “product greenwashing.” The City’s second cause of action alleges that defendants also violated the CPL “by creating a misleading impression of the role of renewables [i.e., renewable energy] in their businesses” — a practice referred to as “corporate greenwashing.”
The City now appeals to this Court from Supreme Court’s order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss both causes of action. The court dismissed the first cause of action, for product greenwashing, as against all defendants, pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7), on the ground that the alleged “product greenwashing” statements did not, as a matter of law, have “the capacity, tendency or effect of . . . deceiving or misleading consumers” (Administrative Code § 20-701), as required to constitute a deceptive trade practice within the meaning of the CPL. … The court also dismissed the second cause of action, for corporate greenwashing, as against all defendants, pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7), on the ground that the alleged “corporate greenwashing” statements were not “made in connection with the sale . . . or in connection with the offering for sale of consumer goods or services,” as also required to constitute a deceptive trade practice within the meaning of the CPL. … [W]e affirm. City of New York v Exxon Mobil Corp., 2026 NY Slip Op 05851, First Dept 10-8-26
THE ASSETS TRANSFERRED TO IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS FOR THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION, TRIAL COURT REVERSED OVER AN EXTENSIVE DISSENT (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court in this divorce proceeding, over a comprehensive dissent, determined the assets transferred to irrevocable trusts were not subject to equitable distribution:
While a trial court has broad discretion in fashioning an equitable distribution award, that discretion is not unlimited. Courts must respect the parties’ economic decisions made during the marriage, and ma