CIVIL ENFORCEMENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ALLEGING FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES CONCERNING THE ADVERTISING OF BROADBAND SPEEDS AND ACCESS TO ONLINE CONTENT (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined the civil enforcement complaint stated causes of action under the Executive Law and the General Business Law for fraudulent practices in advertising Internet speeds and reliable access to online content:
Defendants make official disclosures about broadband speeds (actual speeds measured according to a testing protocol on the modems of consumers deemed representative) in accordance with the federal rule [Transparency Rule, 47 CFR 8.3]. The complaint alleges that defendants’ use of their official disclosures in consumer advertisements is misleading, because other statements in the advertisements give consumers the false impression that the disclosed speeds represent speeds that consumers can expect to experience on their devices, including wireless devices, consistently … . The Transparency Rule does not preempt state laws “that prevent fraud, deception and false advertising” … .
The court correctly determined that the complaint’s allegations about the advertisements’ representations of speeds “up to” a certain level state a cause of action … . Issues of fact exist as to whether defendants delivered the advertised speed levels consistently.
The court correctly declined to dismiss claims based on allegations about network quality and reliability on the ground that some of the language in the advertisements is mere puffery, because other statements in the advertisements are not mere puffery and are actionable … . People v Charter Communications, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 04644, First Dept 6-21-18
CONSUMER LAW (INTERNET, CIVIL ENFORCEMENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ALLEGING FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES CONCERNING THE ADVERTISING OF BROADBAND SPEEDS AND ACCESS TO ONLINE CONTENT (FIRST DEPT))/FRAUD (INTERNET, CIVIL ENFORCEMENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ALLEGING FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES CONCERNING THE ADVERTISING OF BROADBAND SPEEDS AND ACCESS TO ONLINE CONTENT (FIRST DEPT))/ADVERTISING (CONSUMER LAW, INTERNET, CIVIL ENFORCEMENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ALLEGING FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES CONCERNING THE ADVERTISING OF BROADBAND SPEEDS AND ACCESS TO ONLINE CONTENT (FIRST DEPT))/INTERNET (CONSUMER LAW, CIVIL ENFORCEMENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ALLEGING FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES CONCERNING THE ADVERTISING OF BROADBAND SPEEDS AND ACCESS TO ONLINE CONTENT (FIRST DEPT))/CIVIL ENFORCEMENT ACTION (INTERNET, CIVIL ENFORCEMENT COMPLAINT BROUGHT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATED CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER ALLEGING FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES CONCERNING THE ADVERTISING OF BROADBAND SPEEDS AND ACCESS TO ONLINE CONTENT (FIRST DEPT))