Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA)

The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) — codified at Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-110a et seq. — prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce. For vehicle defect cases, CUTPA adds discretionary punitive damages and mandatory attorney fees on top of the Connecticut Lemon Law baseline.

What CUTPA prohibits

§ 42-110b(a) prohibits “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.”

CUTPA borrows from FTC § 5 jurisprudence. The Connecticut Supreme Court adopted the “cigarette rule” test in McLaughlin Ford, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co. (1984):

1. Does the practice offend public policy as established by statute, common law, or otherwise?
2. Is it immoral, unethical, oppressive, or unscrupulous?
3. Does it cause substantial injury to consumers, competitors, or others?

A practice meeting any one of these factors can be CUTPA-actionable.

CUTPA in vehicle-defect cases

CUTPA applies to:

• Misrepresentation by dealer or manufacturer about vehicle condition, warranty, or repair history.
• Failure to disclose known defects, prior accidents, or salvage history.
• Deceptive warranty practices — denying valid warranty claims, requiring unauthorized parts, etc.
• Deceptive arbitration practices — failing to honor binding arbitration awards.
• Lemon Law violations themselves can be CUTPA per se under § 42-110b.

Punitive damages — discretionary

Under § 42-110g(a), courts may award punitive damages in CUTPA cases. Connecticut’s CUTPA punitives are:

• Discretionary — court “may” award.
• Common-law based — not capped at a statutory multiplier.
• Compensatory in nature under Connecticut law — covering attorney fees and litigation costs as part of the punitive award.
• Available where the defendant acted with reckless indifference to the consumer’s rights.

This differs from automatic-multiplier UDAPs like New Jersey (mandatory treble) and North Carolina (mandatory treble) — Connecticut requires showing reckless indifference or intentional wrongdoing.

Mandatory § 42-110g(d) attorney fees

§ 42-110g(d) provides:

“The court may award… reasonable attorney’s fees based on the work reasonably performed…”

Although the statute says “may,” Connecticut courts treat CUTPA fees as functionally mandatory for prevailing plaintiffs — joining the dual mandatory fee bases of Lemon Law § 42-180 + CUTPA § 42-110g(d).

SOL: 3 years

Under § 42-110g(f), CUTPA actions must be brought within 3 years of the occurrence of the violation. Distinct from:

• Lemon Law action filing window (4 years)
• Magnuson-Moss (4 years from delivery)

See our statute of limitations article.

Pre-suit demand letter — strongly recommended

Although § 42-110g does not mandate a pre-suit demand letter (unlike Massachusetts c. 93A § 9(3)), best practice in Connecticut is to send a CUTPA demand letter giving the manufacturer notice and opportunity to cure before filing suit. This serves as evidence of reckless indifference if the manufacturer refuses to remedy.

Bottom line

CUTPA provides Connecticut consumers with uncapped discretionary punitive damages, mandatory attorney fees, and a 3-year SOL for deceptive practices — distinct from and stacking with the Lemon Law. Strong CUTPA cases create substantial settlement leverage.

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