Georgia Fair Business Practices Act

Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act was designed to protect consumers from unfair or unscrupulous practices in the marketplace. This can be a useful tool to consumers who are seeking satisfaction from the courts in cases where a provider of a good or service is engaging in a business practice that is counter to the public interest.

However, FBPA is just one of the pieces of legislation that Georgia attorneys can use to pursue businesses on behalf of their clients. The Governor's Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) is the body that enforces Fair Business Practices Act in Georgia. In order for the case to qualify, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's actions have an impact on the marketplace. In other words, the injury can't only apply to the complainant; it must at least potentially cause harm to others. In addition, because the Fair Business Practices Act is designed to protect consumers, businesses cannot use it against competitors, even if they legitimately identify a practice that is harmful to the market. It's also important to note that there is a two-year statute of limitations attached to FBPA claims. Georgia attorneys should be aware of these limitations when attempting to utilize the Fair Business Practices Act.

The following are some of the practices that the OCP has identified as unlawful activities:

• Passing Off Goods or Services as Another (Example: Selling Motorola phones as iPhones)
• Claiming that goods come from a particular place, when in fact they do not (Example: Selling California sparkling wine as being imported from France)
• Representing that goods are new when they are actually used
• Claiming falsely that goods or services are of a particular quality or grade, or that products are a certain style or model (Example: Selling regular gasoline as high octane)
• Making false or misleading statements about another business or its products or services.
• Advertising goods or services with the intent not to sell them as advertised
• Advertising goods or services without having enough merchandise on hand to meet expected demand, unless the advertisement states "quantities limited."
• Making false or misleading statements about sale prices (Example: Advertising a sale without dropping the prices of the items)

When seeking damages for these claims, Georgia litigators do not have to demonstrate that the defendant intended to defraud consumers; they just need to show that the practice violated the Act.