1973, February, Pg. 15. Checklist of Consumer Protections.

• Author: by Sidney B. Brooks

2 Colo.Law. 15

The Colorado Lawyer

1973.

1973, February, Pg. 15.

Checklist of Consumer Protections

15Vol. 2, No. 4, Pg. 15Checklist of Consumer Protectionsby Sidney B. BrooksProbably no field of law is moving faster and accumulating more technical refinements than consumer protection.--Carl Felsenfeld

Those attorneys, even the so-called specialists, who remain indifferent to consumer legal problems and avoid consumers' inquiries do themselves a disservice and perform for their client no service at all.

Every attorney, regardless of the type of practice in which he is (or is not) engaged, has been confronted with consumer legal problems. They may come by way of an established client, a "walk-in," a friend (of a friend), a neighbor, or his own wife. It may come through an earnest request for assistance from a corporate client's vicepresident or through casual conversation over the backyard fence.

Most importantly, the attorney who specializes (real estate, tax, securities, patents, labor, oil and gas, transportation, etc.) need not refrain from giving advice on consumer problems simply because his "practice does not involve that sort of thing." At the very least, the "specialist" ought to be capable of identifying a consumer problem and defining the consumer's rights vis a vis the merchant.

The brevity of this article dictates a summary treatment of the points to consider when confronted with a consumer's question. Thus, the following is a brief checklist of the more important items to consider when initially presented with what might be a consumer's legal problem. It is not a comprehensive check-off of the items to consider and options available, but it should provide a touchstone for more than cursory consideration of the problem.

1. Is the transaction a sale, lease or a loan, and does it involve the use of credit? The proper classification determines the applicability of diverse legislation: --Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act (esp. Title I, Regulation Z)(fn1)

   --Colorado Consumer Protection Act(fn2)

   --Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.)(fn3)

   --Uniform Consumer Credit Code (U.C.C.C.)(fn4)

   --Federal Trade Commission Act (rules and regulations)(fn5)

   This initial step is of paramount importance because in each transaction, be it real estate or personalty, cash or credit, sale, loan or lease, it is determinative of subsequent analysis, research and opinion.

2. Is the unsatisfactory consumer transaction imbued with characteristics which lend it to resolution by more traditional concepts of law and remedy? The attorney

   16may not need to resort to recent statutory protections. For example: --Perhaps the consumer was not of legal age or was incompetent to engage in the transaction.(fn6)

   --The sale may involve misrepresentation or fraud.(fn7)

   --Mutual mistake may afford rights of recission.(fn8)

   --Lack or failure of consideration might provide satisfactory recourse.(fn9)

   --Referral sales may fail as illusory promises.(fn10)

   --The transaction may be unconscionable or simply against public policy.(fn11)

   --Discharge in bankruptcy may grant relief to the consumer.

   Overlooking the obvious Hornbook Law can prove to be a serious mistake to the attorney, especially if he discovers that the "consumer legislation" does not fit his case and does not provide a remedy for his specific situation. Of course, some of these concepts are now codified, but this serves only to strengthen the...