Shawn Smith spoke with Law360 about the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) and how recent rulings regarding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have impacted conventional views on the statute. Discussing a Connecticut appeals court’s $150 million paring of a $1.44 billion judgment against Infowars host Alex Jones for defaming the victims’ families, he noted that the ruling serves as a reminder of a key statutory curb, “One important limit on the scope of CUTPA is that the unfair or deceptive act or practice must be ‘in the conduct of trade or commerce,'” he said. “This opinion serves as an important reminder that although CUTPA is a broad remedial statute, the definition and the scope of ‘trade or commerce’ is not some unlimited universe.”
Considering the impact of the ruling in Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International LLC , in which Connecticut’s highest court allowed other Sandy Hook families to advance CUTPA claims against the maker of the XM15-E2S rifle used by the shooter, Shawn questioned whether Soto’s logic can cover out-of-state harms caused by in-state companies. He said “Soto established the standard, but when it comes to direct injury, under the Appellate Court’s reasoning here, I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of this issue.”