Washington Consumer Protection Act—Public Interest and the Private Litigant

Authors

David J. Dove

Abstract

Under Washington's Consumer Protection Act, a private individual has standing to sue for unfair or deceptive business practices. The private litigant may not, however, use the Act as a vehicle to remedy those wrongs that impact only the private individual, because the Act's declared purpose is to protect the public interest. The public interest requirement thus imposes a restriction on the otherwise liberal construction of the Act. The Washington Supreme Court has established two tests by which the public interest requirement may be met: (1) the per se test and (2) the Anhold v. Daniels test.

First Page

201

Recommended Citation

David J. Dove, Washington Survey, Washington Consumer Protection Act—Public Interest and the Private Litigant, 60 Wash. L. Rev. 201 (1984).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol60/iss1/13