In what is believed to be the largest unfair trade practices award of its kind ever issued in Connecticut, a Stamford complex litigation judge has awarded $20 million in punitive damages to a class of auto body repair shops.
The decision opens the way for an appeal to the state Supreme Court, which may set the stage for a re-examination of the consumer law’s controversial "cigarette rule." That rule holds that a blend of immoral or socially objectionable acts, even if technically legal, can be unfair trade practices.
