Opinion ID: 4586640
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Deceptive Practices Provisions of the CCPA

Text: The Attorney General pleaded causes of action arising under the deceptive practices provisions of the CCPA in his Amended Complaint. He alleged that education and recreation are “services,” as that term is defined in the CCPA. Consequently, he reasoned, he may bring deceptive practices claims to regulate the educational and recreational services supplied by a religious institution. West Virginia Code § 46A-6-104 states: “Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are hereby declared unlawful.” 18 “‘Trade’ or ‘commerce’” is “the advertising, offering for sale, sale or distribution of any goods or services and shall include any trade or commerce, directly or indirectly, affecting the people of this state.” 19 “‘Services’ include[] . . . ‘privileges with respect to . . . education[ and] recreation.’” 20 On appeal, the Attorney General posits that because “services” include “privileges with respect to . . . education[ and] recreation,” then, services—for purposes of the CCPA, at least—include education and recreation. Our review of this issue is de novo and brief. We find that the common and ordinary meaning of “privileges” aligns with those 18 W. Va. Code § 46A-6-104. 19 Id. § 46A-6-102(6). 20 Id. § 46A-1-102(47)(b) (1996). 7 dictionary definitions offered by the Attorney General: “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor.” 21 Numerous dictionary definitions track this meaning, including the first definition of the word in Black’s Law Dictionary: “A special legal right, exemption, or immunity granted to a person or class of persons; an exception to a duty.” 22 Considered in the context of the CCPA, we see that a “service” includes a peculiar 23 legal right with respect to education or recreation. 24 21 See Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Privilege,” available at https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/privilege (last visited October 1, 2020). 22 See Black’s Law Dictionary, “Privilege” 1390 (3d Ed. 2014). See also The Oxford Eng. Dictionary, “Privilege” 522 (2d. Ed., Vol. II 1989) (“A right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by a person, or a body or class of persons, beyond the common advantages of others; an exemption in a particular case from certain burdens or liabilities.”). 23 Notably, “peculiar,” means “different from the usual or normal.” MerriamWebster Dictionary, “Peculiar,” available at https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/privilege (last visited October 1, 2020). So, the right described above, granted in the context of “trade” or “commerce,” is different from the “fundamental, constitutional right” to education found in Article 12, § 1 of the West Virginia Constitution. See Syl. Pt. 3, Pauley v. Kelly, 162 W. Va. 672, 255 S.E.2d 859 (1979) (“The mandatory requirements of ‘a thorough and efficient system of free schools’ found in Article XII, Section 1 of the West Virginia Constitution, make education a fundamental, constitutional right in this State.”). 24 See Mountain State College v. Holsinger, 230 W. Va. 678, 684, 742 S.E.2d 94, 100 (2013) (describing private college as “seller of education services”). Compare Alsides v. Brown Inst., Ltd., 592 N.W.2d 468, 475 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999) (holding that “classes or course instruction provided by a private, proprietary, for-profit educational institution constitute a ‘service’ or ‘intangible’ under the [Minnesota] consumer fraud act”); Malone v. Acad. of Court Reporting, 582 N.E.2d 54, 59 (Ohio Ct. App. 1990) (holding that studentplaintiff had valid claim under Ohio’s consumer laws against a paralegal school that allegedly misrepresented its accreditation status and job placement success); Scott v. Ass’n for Childbirth at Home, Int’l, 480 N.E.2d 1012, 1015 (Ill. 1981) (holding that sale of 8 We disagree with the Diocese that the phrase “privileges with respect to” limits application of the deceptive practices provisions of Article 6 to the consumer credit context. Had the Legislature intended that limit, it would have said so by using terms already defined in Article 1, such as “credit,” 25 or “consumer credit sale.” 26 Instead, the Legislature chose to use an undefined phrase, “privileges with respect to,” communicating that (1) something other than credit or a consumer credit sale of education or recreation is a service, and (2) the common, every day meaning of “privilege” controls.