Mass. Appeals Court Concludes That Negligence Alone Does Not Violate Chapter 93A

On Sept. 12, 2024, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts upheld a trial court judge's directed verdict of a plaintiff's Chapter 93A, Section 9 claim in Simon v. Laundromax-104 Warrant St., LLC.

In Simon, the plaintiff sued the defendant for injuries allegedly suffered when using defendant's defective product. The plaintiff's claims included breach of warranty, negligence, and violation of Chapter 93A. The plaintiff's warranty and Chapter 93A claims failed at trial as a matter of law; however, the jury did find the defendant had been comparatively negligent.

Even considering the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the Appeals Court concluded that the defendant's negligence did not amount to an unfair or deceptive act under Chapter 93A, Section 2. According to the court, the plaintiff had not presented sufficient evidence that the defendant's negligent act itself "was or resulted in" a Section 2 violation. Relying on cases from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and one of its own decisions (Poly v. Moylan, 423 Mass. 141 (1996), H1 Lincoln, Inc. v. South Washington Street, LLC, 489 Mass. 1 (2022), and O'Connor v. Merrimack Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 73 Mass. App. Ct. 205 (2008)), the Appeals Court explained that a defendant does not violate Chapter 93A (even if negligent) when (i) the negligent act does not involve conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, (ii) the negligent act was not immoral, unethical, oppressive, or unscrupulous, or (iii) the defendant was not aware of the product defect, "intentionally blinded itself to a defect" or otherwise "intended to misled or defraud" the plaintiff.

This case further supports reasonable limits to the scope of what defines an unfair or deceptive act or practice under Chapter 93A, Section 2. Stated simply, negligence alone does not violate Chapter 93A.