I’ve seen people’s attorneys try to bring a CUTPA claim on negligent workmanship. Heck, I’ve even considered doing that myself. The CUTPA fee-shifting provision is great for a plaintiff. But before I actually filed that complaint, I researched the law. And I found out:
Negligent Workmanship is not Exactly a CUTPA Claim
While there’s no law about negligent workmanship and CUTPA, specific to home improvement contractors, electricians, plumbers, or auto mechanics (the trades against whom people most often complaint about problems with workmanship), there is law about doctors and lawyers (the trades whom the courts most often favor). That law is equally favorable across the skilled trades (unless the courts have temerity to make a class distinction among the trades).
The law regarding CUTPA claims for professional negligence is clear. In Haynes v. Yale-New Haven Hospital, 243 Conn. 17 (1997), the Connecticut Supreme Court held that a CUTPA claim can be successfully brought against a tradesperson, only if there are allegations of unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive methods, acts, or practices in the conduct of the entrepreneurial, commercial, or business aspect of the trade. A classic example is false advertising of competence. But allegations that merely concern misconduct in the actual practice of the trade would be improper.
Thus, to make a CUTPA claim out of shoddy workmanship, a plaintiff would need to demonstrate false advertising of competence. Could this be based on a plethora of 5-star Google reviews? Maybe. Therefore, the tradesperson striving to get good reviews should make sure their skills and work stay sharp. Those great reviews could be the basis of a CUTPA claim, if work goes wrong.
