First Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 25-0554.01 Jennifer Berman x3286
SENATE BILL 25-157
Senate Committees House Committees
Business, Labor, & Technology
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING REDUCING BURDENS TO ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS101
PROHIBITING DECEPTIVE ACTS .102
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
The bill establishes that certain evidence that a person has engaged
in an unfair or deceptive trade practice constitutes a significant impact to
the public. The bill also clarifies that a deceptive trade practice claim
cannot be based solely on a claim that a person breached a contract or
engaged in negligence or on a claim for damages based on the rendering
of professional services, unless the claim for damages involves an
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Weissman and Gonzales J., Cutter, Jodeh, Kipp, Kolker
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Mabrey and Titone, Bacon, Brown, Froelich, Garcia, Lindsay, Mauro, Rutinel, Sirota,
Story, Velasco, Willford, Zokaie
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. allegation of a material misrepresentation of fact, a failure to disclose
material information, or an action that cannot be characterized as
providing advice, judgment, or opinion.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) For more than 100 years, it has been the policy of the United4
States and of the state of Colorado to promote honest competition among5
businesses and to discourage unfair competition;6
(b) In 1914, Congress passed the "Federal Trade Commission7
Act", 15 U.S.C. sec. 41 et seq., to prohibit "unfair methods of competition8
in commerce";9
(c) The "Federal Trade Commission Act" has been continually10
updated as the economy has evolved and currently prohibits "[u]nfair11
methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive12
acts or practices in or affecting commerce";13
(d) In 1915, the Colorado general assembly passed legislation14
prohibiting "untrue, deceptive, or misleading" advertising, as codified in15
C.L. 1921 sec. 6942;16
(e) In 1969, the Colorado general assembly passed the "Colorado17
Consumer Protection Act", the first modern consumer protection law to18
prohibit "deceptive trade practices" and to protect consumers from unfair,19
unconscionable, and deceptive acts or practices;20
(f) In 1998, in Hall v. Walter, 969 P.2d 224, 234 (Colo. 1998), the21
Colorado supreme court limited the application of the "Colorado22
Consumer Protection Act", part 1 of article 1 of title 6, Colorado Revised23
Statutes, by holding that an injured individual or business must prove that24
SB25-157-2- an unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive act or practice "significantly1
impacts the public", placing a requirement on injured individuals or2
businesses to prove circumstances far outside their own knowledge or3
control;4
(g) The requirement that an injured individual or business prove5
that an unfair or deceptive trade practice "significantly impacts the6
public" is nowhere to be found in the text of the "Colorado Consumer7
Protection Act";8
(h) According to the most recent 50-state survey from the National9
Consumer Law Center, Colorado is one of only 7 states that curtail their10
consumer protection laws with this type of "significantly impacts the11
public" limitation;12
(i) According to the federal trade commission, Colorado ranks13
above the national average for reports of consumer fraud per capita, with14
the fifteenth highest reporting numbers; and15
(j) By clarifying actions brought under the "Colorado Consumer16
Protection Act", Colorado can join the overwhelming majority of other17
states that do not impose comparable barriers to consumer protection18
claims and, thereby, better promote honest competition among businesses,19
discourage unfair competition, and protect consumers.20
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 6-1-113, add (5) and21
(6) as follows:22
6-1-113. Civil actions - damages - other relief - class actions.23
(5) I
N AN ACTION COMMENCED UNDER THIS SECTION , A PERSON OTHER24
THAN A PERSON AUTHORIZED TO BRING SUIT UNDER SECTION 6-1-103 MAY25
ESTABLISH THAT AN UNFAIR OR A DECEPTIVE ACT OR PRACTICE26
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTS THE PUBLIC BECAUSE THE ACT OR PRACTICE :27
SB25-157
-3- (a) VIOLATES A PROVISION OF THIS TITLE 6 THAT IS A DECEPTIVE1
TRADE PRACTICE; OR2
(b) I
NJURED, HAD THE CAPACITY TO INJURE, OR HAS THE CAPACITY3
TO INJURE OTHER PERSONS.4
(6) I
N AN ACTION COMMENCED UNDER THIS SECTION :5
(a) A
BREACH OF CONTRACT CLAIM, WITHOUT AN ALLEGATION OF6
ADDITIONAL CONDUCT, DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CLAIM THAT A PERSON7
ENGAGED IN A DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE ;8
(b) A
CLAIM OF NEGLIGENCE, WITHOUT AN ALLEGATION OF9
ADDITIONAL CONDUCT, DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CLAIM THAT A PERSON10
ENGAGED IN A DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE ; AND11
(c) A
CLAIM FOR DAMAGES BASED ON THE RENDERING OF A12
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE, THE ESSENCE OF WHICH SERVICE IS PROVIDING13
ADVICE, JUDGMENT, OPINION, OR SIMILAR PROFESSIONAL SKILL, WITHOUT14
AN ALLEGATION OF ADDITIONAL CONDUCT , DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A15
CLAIM THAT A PERSON ENGAGED IN A DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE ;16
EXCEPT THAT THIS SUBSECTION (6)(c) DOES NOT APPLY TO:17
(I) A
N EXPRESS MISREPRESENTATION OF A MATERIAL FACT THAT18
CANNOT BE CHARACTERIZED AS PROVIDING ADVICE , JUDGMENT, OR19
OPINION;20
(II) A
FAILURE TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION CONCERNING GOODS OR21
SERVICES, WHICH INFORMATION WAS KNOWN AT THE TIME OF THE22
TRANSACTION, IF SUCH FAILURE TO DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION WAS23
INTENDED TO INDUCE THE CONSUMER INTO A TRANSACTION THAT THE24
CONSUMER WOULD NOT HAVE ENTERED INTO HAD THE INFORMATION BEEN25
DISCLOSED;26
(III) A
N ACTION OR COURSE OF ACTION THAT CANNOT BE27
SB25-157
-4- CHARACTERIZED AS PROVIDING ADVICE , JUDGMENT, OR OPINION; OR1
(IV) A
BREACH OF AN EXPRESS WARRANTY THAT CANNOT BE2
CHARACTERIZED AS PROVIDING ADVICE , JUDGMENT, OR OPINION.3
SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,4
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate5
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for6
the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state7
institutions.8
SB25-157
-5-