“It’s Only a Letter…”
Chapter 93A is a Massachusetts statute which allows consumers in the Commonwealth to file a claim seeking a remedy based on a violation of the statute due to alleged unfair and deceptive business practices. The process of filing a claim under Massachusetts Chapter 93A begins with a demand letter. The consumer sending a demand letter to a business must do so at least 30 days prior to beginning any legal action. The demand letter may be served to a business by mail or even by process server. Most importantly, in Massachusetts, the business has 30 days to respond to the demand letter. Thirty days, that is, from the date it was mailed (postmarked) and no later than the date delivered to the business. In order to avoid any complications caused by the consumer claiming that a business’ response to the demand letter is late, it is prudent to respond to the demand letter within 30 days of the date on the demand letter itself.
Don’t Wait to Respond to the 93A Demand Letter
If your business receives a demand letter under Massachusetts Chapter 93A from a consumer, your business must respond to each allegation in the demand letter within the time allotted by statute. Failure to respond to a demand letter in Massachusetts carries potentially severe consequences for the business identified in the letter. Because the demand letter is the initial contact required under Chapter 93A, a business’s failure to respond to this initial demand letter will play well in court when the consumer files a lawsuit as the next step in the process.
Can a Lawsuit under 93A Be Avoided?
Possibly. Once a demand letter is sent to your business and you respond to each allegation in that letter, you may be able to establish that you do not agree with the allegations levied at your business in the demand letter. To be effective, the demand letter written by the consumer (actually and typically written by the consumer’s attorney) must indicate that your business has engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices. In Massachusetts courts, unfair practice typically means: (a) a practice that, while not necessarily unlawful, is against public policy or common law doctrines; or (b) is an immoral, unethical business practice, oppressive or unscrupulous in nature; or (c) an act that causes substantial injury to the consumer.
It is possible that the letter written by the consumer’s advocate does not effectively establish a violation of the Chapter 93A Massachusetts statute. It is also possible that the consumer’s advocate, while believing in the truth of the allegations in the demand letter, may also know that the allegations are weak. When this situation occurs, a good attorney can assess the likelihood of the consumer’s chances of success in court, and can make a strong response to the consumer’s demand letter. A strong response to a demand letter sends the consumer (and the consumer’s attorney) a message of the will of the business to fight based on the business’ solid legal footing against the allegations in the demand letter.
Still, at other times, a demand letter written by a consumer to a business has legal precedent establishing high dollar awards for consumers. Should this situation occur to your business, you will need a demand letter response that addresses each allegation and, additionally, may need to begin to evaluate negotiation and settlement options.
“I’ll Write the Demand Letter Response Myself”
While it is certainly possible that your business manager or a business owner may craft the perfect response and/or negotiate a settlement avoiding further litigation… do it yourself success in this arena is challenging. The reason that an attorney drafted demand letter is necessary stems from the fact that an experienced attorney is familiar with existing law and precedent either by experience, training, research, or some combination thereof, allowing him or her to have the greatest chance of successfully avoiding a claim, rebutting a demand letter, or gaining the best outcome possible in negotiations for your business.
DISCLAIMER:
The information provided in the pages and posts of this website are for general informational purposes only. The information presented on this site is not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed by the use of this site.
