PLAINTIFFS, ATTORNEYS PRACTICING LANDLORD-TENANT LAW, ALLEGED DEFENDANT PUBLISHER OF “NEW YORK LANDLORD-TENANT LAW” OMITTED OR INACCURATELY PRESENTED SOME OF THE RELEVANT STATUTES AND REGULATIONS AND THEREFORE VIOLATED GENERAL BUSINESS LAW 349 (DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES); THE COMPLAINT FAILED TO ADEQUATELY ALLEGE DEFENDANT’S ACT OR PRACTICE WAS MATERIALLY MISLEADING (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, over a dissent, determined plaintiffs did not state a cause of action for deceptive business practices (General Business Law (GBL) 349) against the defendant-publisher of a legal resource book, “New York Landlord-Tenant Law” (commonly called the “Tanbook”). Plaintiffs, attorneys who practice landlord-tenant law, alleged the Tanbook, which is published annually, purported to include all the relevant statutes and regulations but, in fact, omitted or inaccurately presented some statutes and regulations. The Court of Appeals found that the complaint adequately alleged a cause of action that was consumer-oriented, but did not adequately allege defendant’s act or practice was misleading in a material way:

… [P]laintiffs’ cause of action is based on purchases of yearly editions of the Tanbook, under a sales agreement that charged extra for any updates of the year’s materials contained in the corresponding edition. Plaintiffs’ allegations are limited to omissions and inaccuracies in a section of the Tanbook they knew was subject to legislative amendment, which they concede were corrected in the 2017 edition after the errors were brought to defendant’s attention, and which were specifically contemplated by defendant’s express disclaimer of the currentness of the Tanbook’s contents. Under the circumstances, plaintiffs, or any reasonable consumer, could not have been materially misled to believe that defendant guaranteed Part III of the Tanbook was complete and accurate at any given time. Thus, because plaintiffs failed to adequately plead this element, their GBL § 349 cause of action was properly dismissed. Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph, LLP v Matthew Bender & Co., Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 03485, CtApp 6-3-21