J-A18007-22
2023 PA SUPER 40
DANIEL GARCIA, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SITUATED
Appellees
v.
FOOT LOCKER RETAIL, INC., FOOT
LOCKER SPECIALTY, INC., AND FOOT
LOCKER STORES, INC.
Appellants No. 1453 WDA 2021
Appeal from the Order Entered September 2, 2021
In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County
Civil Division at No: GD-21-002107
BEFORE: STABILE, J., MURRAY, J., and McLAUGHLIN, J.
OPINION BY STABILE, J.: FILED: MARCH 14, 2023
Appellants, Foot Locker Retail, Inc., Foot Locker Specialty, Inc., and Foot
Locker Stores, Inc. (collectively “Foot Locker”), take this interlocutory appeal
from the trial court’s September 2021 order overruling their preliminary
objections to the class action complaint of Appellees, Daniel Garcia and all
others similarly situated. We reverse.
In its retail stores, Foot Locker sold cloth face masks commonly worn
during the Covid-19 pandemic. Appellee Daniel Garcia (“Garcia”) alleges that
he purchased a cloth face mask from Foot Locker on September 29, 2020. He
retained a sales receipt indicating that he paid sales tax on it, and that the
sales tax was improper because the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
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(“Dor”) treated cloth face masks as medical supplies during the pandemic. On
March 9, 2021, Garcia filed this class action complaint on behalf of himself and
all others similarly situated. On April 1, 2021, Foot Locker filed preliminary
objections alleging, among other things, that Garcia failed to state a claim
upon which relief can be granted. Pa.R.Civ.P. 1028(a)(4). Garcia filed an
amended complaint on April 23, 2021, and Appellants filed preliminary
objections on May 20, 2021. The trial court heard argument on August 10,
2021 and on September 2, 2021 entered an order overruling the preliminary
objections. This Court granted permission for an interlocutory appeal by order
of December 10, 2021.1 The sole issue before us is whether the collection of
sales tax on nontaxable items, as alleged in Garcia’s complaint, is cognizable
under the UTPCPL.
The law governing preliminary objections is well-settled:
Preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer should be
granted where the contested pleading is legally insufficient.
Preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer require the
court to resolve the issues solely on the basis of the pleadings; no
testimony or other evidence outside of the complaint may be
considered to dispose of the legal issues presented by the
demurrer. All material facts set forth in the pleading and all
inferences reasonably deducible therefrom must be admitted as
true.
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1 Pa.R.A.P. 312, 1311(a).
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Caltagirone v. Cephalon, Inc., 190 A.3d 596, 599 (Pa. Super. 2018)
(citations omitted), appeal denied, 195 A.3d 854 (Pa. 2018). Our standard
of review is de novo. Id.
Garcia’s allegations include the following:
20. Plaintiff bought a protective face mask from
Defendants at a retail store located at 1000 Ross Park Mall Drive,
Pittsburgh, PA 15237, on September 29, 2020.
21. Defendants advertised the mask Plaintiff purchased as
costing $13.00.
22. Yet Defendants charged, and Garcia paid, $13.91 for
the mask.
23. The extra $0.91 equals 7% of the mask’s advertised
price.
24. The sales receipt Plaintiff received identified the extra
$0.91 as sales tax.
25. This representation was false and deceptive because
sales tax was not owed on the face masks.
26. No sales tax was owed on the protective face masks
Plaintiff purchased because the protective face masks were
designed and intended to be used as medical supplies and
everyday wear. 72 P.S. §§ 7204(17), (26).[2]
27. Without vaccines available to the public, nothing else
existed to protect Plaintiff and his family against the coronavirus
disease and/or illness when Plaintiff bought the protective face
masks, making it clear they were designed and intended to meet
consumer demand for help preventing disease and illness (and
allergies).
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2 These subsections exclude medical supplies (72 P.S. § 7204(17)) and
articles of clothing (72 P.S. § 7204(26)) from sales tax.
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28. This is even more evident considering Defendants did
not sell protective face masks before the coronavirus pandemic,
which Plaintiff alleges on information and belief.
29. Products designed and intended for these purposes
qualify as medical supplies and are exempt from sales tax. 61 Pa.
Code §§ 52.1(a), (b).
30. Defendants included information within the packaging
of the masks Plaintiff purchased affirming the masks are designed
and intended as everyday wear, as Defendants recommended
consumers clean the masks “daily.” See ¶ 8.
31. Articles of clothing designed to be cleaned daily
constitute “ordinary or everyday wear” and are also exempt from
sales tax.
32. Plaintiff lost money and the retention, use, and benefit
of that money as a result of the overcharge Defendants caused
him to pay on non-taxable protective facemasks.
First Amended Complaint, April 23, 2021, at ¶¶ 20-32.
The first amended complaint alleges that Appellants’ conduct constitutes
actionable conduct under the UTPCPL. The UTPCPL forbids “unfair methods of
competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any
trade or commerce.” 73 P.S.§ 201-3(a). UTPCPL defines “trade” and
“commerce” as follows:
(3) “Trade” and “commerce” mean the advertising, offering for
sale, sale or distribution of any services and any property, tangible
or intangible, real, personal or mixed, and any other article,
commodity, or thing of value wherever situate, and includes any
trade or commerce directly or indirectly affecting the people of
this Commonwealth.
73 P.S. § 201-2(3), 1968 Pa. Laws 1224.
Appellants argue that collection of tax does not meet the definition of
“trade or commerce,” and that their alleged conduct does not meet any
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definition of unlawful conduct under § 201-2(4). They argue that the DoR is
responsible for determining which items are taxable and which are not, and
that the DoR also offers a remedy for consumers who believe they have been
charged tax they did not owe.
Because the threshold issue before us is the proper interpretation of
“trade or commerce,” as that phrase is defined in the UTPCPL, and because
there is no binding precedent from the Court of this Commonwealth, we begin
with the principles of statutory construction. Our primary goal is to give effect
to the intentions of the General Assembly. 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1921(a);
Commonwealth by Shapiro v. Golden Gate Nat’l Senior Care LLC, 194
A.3d 1010, 1027 (Pa. 2018).
To accomplish this, we consider the statutory language at
issue not in isolation, but in the context in which it appears.
Commonwealth v. Kingston, 636 Pa. 438, 143 A.3d 917, 922
(2016); see also Rossi v. Commonwealth, 580 Pa. 238, 860
A.2d 64, 66 (2004) (“[I]ndividual statutory provisions must be
construed with reference to the entire statute of which they are a
part[.]”). The best indication of legislative intent is the plain
language of a statute. Commonwealth v. Gilmour Mfg. Co.,
573 Pa. 143, 822 A.2d 676, 679 (2003). Words and phrases
ordinarily should be understood according to their common and
approved usage. White Deer Twp. v. Napp, 603 Pa. 562, 985
A.2d 745, 760 (2009) (citing 1 Pa.C.S. § 1903(a)). When the
words of a statute are clear and unambiguous, we must give effect
to the plain language, and we cannot ignore the text of the statute
in pursuit of its spirit. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b).
Id. at 1027-28.
Regarding the intentions of the General Assembly, our Supreme Court
has written that “[t]he UTPCPL was created to even the bargaining power
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between consumers and sellers in commercial transactions, and to promote
that objective, it aims to protect the consumers of the Commonwealth against
fraud and unfair or deceptive business practices.” Id. at 1023.
The Legislature sought by the Consumer Protection Law to
benefit the public at large by eradicating, among other things,
‘unfair or deceptive’ business practices. Just as earlier legislation
was designed to equalize the position of employer and employee
and the position of insurer and insured, this Law attempts to place
on more equal terms seller and consumer. These remedial
statutes are all predicated on a legislative recognition of the
unequal bargaining power of opposing forces in the marketplace.
Commonwealth by Creamer v. Monumental Properties, Inc., 329 A.2d
812, 815–16 (Pa. 1974). “As a remedial statute, it is to be construed liberally
to effectuate that goal.” Golden Gate, 194 A.3d at 1023.
As noted above, the UTPCPL defines trade and commerce as the
advertising, offering for sale, sale or distribution of property and services.
There is no dispute that the sale of cloth facemasks qualifies as trade or
commerce. As for the concomitant sales tax, and whether it is actionable
under the UTPCPL, we look to § 203-1(a), which forbids “unfair methods of
competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any
trade or commerce.” 73 P.S.§ 201-3(a) (emphasis added). The parties
dispute whether the collection of sales tax in this case happened “in the
conduct of” selling cloth facemasks.
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Because the UTPCPL does not define “in the conduct of,” we turn to the
dictionary definition of “conduct.”3 According to Merriam Webster, “conduct,”
when used as a noun, means “the act, manner, or process of carrying on.”
https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conduct (last visited December 27,
2022). In our view, the dictionary definition of “conduct” does not support
the trial court’s ruling. Collection of sales tax is not itself the “act, manner, or
carrying on” of advertising or selling a product. Rather, it is a statutory
obligation attendant to the conduct or commerce. 72 P.S. § 7202(a). By
statute, retailers must collect sales tax at the time of sale and remit it to the
DoR. 72 P.S. § 7237(b)(1). Tax, once collected, is held in trust for the
Commonwealth. 72 P.S. § 7225. The DoR will refund any taxes to which the
Commonwealth was not entitled. 72 P.S. § 7252. Thus, a remedy is available
to a consumer who pays tax on a nontaxable item. The import of §§ 7225
and 7252 is that “once a purchaser pays the seller a tax, whether properly
or improperly imposed, that tax effectively becomes Commonwealth
property, whether the seller transfers it to the Commonwealth or holds it in a
trust fund for the Commonwealth. Stoloff v. Neiman Marcus Grp., Inc., 24
A.3d 366, 373 (Pa. Super. 2011) (emphasis added). In other words, even if
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3 The rules of statutory construction provide that words and phrases are to
be construed “according to the common and approved usage.” 1 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 1903(a). “We have generally used dictionaries as source material for the
common and approved usage of a term.” Fogle v. Malvern Courts, Inc.,
772 A.2d 680, 682 (Pa. 1999).
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a retailer collects tax where none is due, the money becomes the property of
the Commonwealth. Id.
Considering these facts, it is not obvious that an action to address the
alleged collection of sales tax on a nontaxable item advances the purpose of
the UTPCPL. Retailers have no discretion in determining which items are
taxable and which are not, and they have no profit motive to collect tax on
nontaxable items because (1) doing so would put them at a competitive
disadvantage against other retailers selling the same product; and (2) the tax
revenue, collected properly or improperly, is held in trust for the government
and therefore does not enrich the retailer. Furthermore, we observe that the
Pennsylvania Code forbids retailers to include sales tax in the advertised price
of a product. “When referred to in advertising or other price quotations, the
tax shall be separately stated. For example, an article selling for 99¢ may not
be advertised at ‘$1.05’ or ‘$1.05 including tax’ but shall be advertised at ‘99¢
plus tax,’ ‘99¢ plus 6¢ tax’ or ‘99¢.’ 61 Pa. Code § 31.2(4). Furthermore,
“[a] vendor may neither advertise nor otherwise state that the tax or any part
thereof will be absorbed by the vendor or not be charged.” 61 Pa. Code
§ 31.2(3). Thus, on the one hand the UTPCPL includes “advertising” in its
definition of trade or commerce, and on the other hand the PA Code mandates
that the applicable sales tax, if advertised at all, be advertised separately and
identified as a tax. This mandatory distinction between the advertised price
of a product and the advertised sales tax supports a conclusion that the
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collection of sales tax is distinct from the conduct of trade or commerce as
defined in the UTPCPL.
Other states considering this issue have concluded that collection of
sales tax is not trade or commerce within the meaning of their consumer
protection statutes. For example, in Feeny v. Dell, 908 N.E.2d 753 (Mass.
2009), the Supreme Judicial Court considered a claim that collection of sales
tax on service contracts violated the state consumer protection statute.
There, the plaintiffs did not allege that the defendants failed to remit the tax
to the Commonwealth. Id. at 770. The Court reasoned that the defendant,
in its collection of sales tax, acted pursuant to legislative mandate and as a
trustee for the Commonwealth, not in furtherance of trade or commerce. Id.
Absent an allegation that the defendant acted for its own self-enrichment, the
plaintiff did not state a claim under the Massachusetts consumer protection
statute. Id. at 771; see also, McGonagle v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc.,
915 N.E.2d 1083 (Mass. App. 2009) (holding that collection of sales tax, a
statutory duty, was not actionable under the Massachusetts consumer
protection law).
Similarly, in Blass v. Rite Aid of Connecticut, 16 A.3d 855 (Conn.
Super. 2009), aff’d, 16 A.3d 737 (Conn. 2011), in a case arising under the
Connecticut equivalent of the UTPCPL, the Court explained that improper
collection of taxes does not constitute trade or commerce. “A retailer gains
no personal benefit from the overcollection of taxes. In fact, such activity only
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increases the retailer’s prices, working against its economic interest.” Id. at
863. The Court also noted that the retailer collected taxes as an agent of the
state, and not on its own behalf. Id. See also, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc.
v. Bugliaro, 319 So.2d 711 (Fla. 2021) (holding that no remedy existed under
the Florida consumer protection law because sales tax proceeds are state
funds, and because the plaintiff conceded that the defendant was merely a
conduit for the collection and remission of taxes).
Because these courts considered substantially identical statutory
language under a uniform consumer protection law, their decisions deserve
great deference from this Court. “Statutes uniform with those of other states
shall be interpreted and construed to effect their general purpose to make
uniform the laws of those states which enact them.” 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1927.
“Accordingly, in construing a uniform law, this Court must consider the
decisions of our sister states who have adopted and interpreted such uniform
law and must afford these decisions great deference.” Sternlicht v.
Sternlicht, 876 A.2d 904, 911 n.13 (Pa. 2005).
Likewise, several opinions from Federal District Courts within this
Commonwealth have concluded that collection of sales tax is not part of the
conduct of trade or commerce as defined in the UTPCPL.4 In Lisowski v.
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4 In the absence of binding state court precedent, we may turn to the federal
courts for persuasive authority. Umbelina v. Adams, 34 A.3d 151, 159 n.2
(Pa. Super. 2011), appeal denied, 47 A.3d 848 (Pa. 2012).
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Walmart Stores, Inc., 552 F.Supp.3d 519 (W.D.Pa. 2021), the plaintiff
alleged that Walmart improperly collected sales tax on nontaxable dietary
supplements (5-Hour Energy drinks). Id. at 522. He filed a class action
lawsuit alleging causes of action under the UTPCPL and common law. The
Federal District Court held that a retailer’s collection of taxes did not constitute
trade or commerce within the meaning of the UTPCPL. The court explained:
First, a retailer’s incorrect assessment of sales tax is not
conduct covered by the UTPCPL, which only regulates activity that
is part of ‘the conduct of any trade or commerce.’ When collecting
sales tax, a retailer is not conducting ‘trade or commerce,’ even if
such collection occurs in connection with a commercial
transaction. Instead, because the Commonwealth requires
retailers to collect sales tax on the Commonwealth’s behalf, the
retailer steps into the shoes of the Commonwealth and acts as a
state agent, motivated by public duty rather than private gain.
Thus, while it is true that the UTPCPL extends broadly, as to
regulate all manner of deceptive activity in the conduct of trade
or commerce, it does not extend to regulate activity disconnected
from the retailer’s commercial interests, such as tax collection.
[Plaintiff’s] statutory claim fails for that reason.
Id. at 522 (citations omitted).5
In McLean v. Big Lots, 542 F.Supp.3d 343 (W.D.Pa. 2021), the Federal
District Court dismissed a UTPCPL claim based on allegedly improper taxation
of protective face masks. There, as here, the plaintiff alleged the facemasks
were nontaxable medical supplies. Id. at 347. Plaintiff alleged unfair methods
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5 In a non-precedential decision, the Third Circuit affirmed on alternate
grounds, holding that the plaintiff failed to allege justifiable reliance on an
unlawful practice. Lisowski v. Walmart Stores, Inc., 2022 WL 2763698
(3d Cir. May 2, 2022).
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of competition under the same three subsections presently at issue. Id.
Defendants sought dismissal for failure to state a claim. Id. The McLean
Court held that tax collection is not trade or commerce within the meaning of
the UTPCPL.
The collection of sales tax is divorced from private profit.
Retailers, like the Defendants here, collect sales tax on behalf of
the Commonwealth’s Department of Revenue because state law
requires them to do so. Once collected, retailers hold the tax in
trust before remitting to the Commonwealth. A retailer’s conduct
in collecting taxes is not for purposes of profit, private gain, or
greed.
Id. at 350 (citations omitted).6
Further, in Meyer v. Cmty. Coll. of Beaver Cty., 93 A.3d 806 (Pa.
2014), our Supreme Court considered the viability of UTPCPL causes of action
against the Community College of Beaver County (“CCBC”). In particular, the
Supreme Court considered whether the UTPCPL’s definition of “person”
included political subdivision agencies such as community colleges. The
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6 Similarly, in James. v. Aldi, 2021 WL 2896837 (W.D.Pa. July 9, 2021), the
Federal District Court, citing McLean, dismissed UTPCPL claims arising out of
taxation of allegedly nontaxable cloth facemasks. And in Ranalli v.
Etsy.com, LLC, 570 F.Supp.3d 301 (W.D.Pa. 2021), another case involving
UTPCPL claims arising out of taxation of protective cloth facemasks, the
District Court dismissed the claims relying on the rationale of McLean. Also,
the Ranalli Court reasoned that “Plaintiff does not allege that either defendant
misrepresented the characteristics of the face masks he purchased, only that
they were not taxable, which is not a characteristic of the product in and of
itself. Id. at 307. “Nor is there an allegation that either defendant
intentionally engaged in false advertising, or the proverbial ‘bait and switch.’”
Id. “In addition, Plaintiff has not alleged an ascertainable loss of money or
property in that he is entitled to a refund from the Department of Revenue.”
Id. Thus, the plaintiff failed to state a claim under the UTPCPL. Id.
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defendant community college claimed it was not a person as defined in the
statute and thus not subject to the private action brought against it. The
Meyer Court concluded that the legislature did not intend to include political
subdivision agencies within the statutory definition of person. Id. at 815.
Pertinent for our purposes is Chief Justice Castille’s proposed basis for
affirmance: that the community college was not engaging in trade or
commerce. Id. at 815-16 (Castille, C.J., concurring). As a community
college, CCBC offered post-secondary education in exchange for tuition and
fees. Id. at 808. Plaintiffs had completed part of CCBC’s police training
program when the program was decertified, allegedly due to CCBC’s
malfeasance. Id. Quoting from a dissenting opinion in the Commonwealth
Court, Chief Justice Castille reasoned:
‘Trade or commerce’ is mercantile activity in which the
person engaged in that business is doing so for private profit which
could motivate unfair or deceptive practices for private gain or,
more accurately, private greed. All of the provisions of the
[UTPCPL] are aimed at private businesses. The Community
College is not engaged in the conduct of ‘trade or commerce’ but
is carrying out a public responsibility with tax dollars to provide
students with an affordable education to citizens of the
Commonwealth. In other words, when a governmental entity is
carrying out a public duty, it is not engaged in the conduct of a
trade or commerce, but in the conduct of government.
Id. at 816 (Castille, C.J., concurring). While Chief Justice Castille wrote only
for himself on this point, and he acknowledged that the issue was not before
the Court (see id. at 815), we find his reasoning, in addition to that of the
courts above, persuasive authority in support of our conclusion that the
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carrying out of a public duty, in this case the collection of sales tax, is not
trade or commerce within the meaning of the UTPCPL.
In summary, the unambiguous language of the operative provisions of
the UTPCPL, its purposes as delineated by our Supreme Court, the dictionary
definition of conduct, the treatment of sales tax under the Pennsylvania Code,
and persuasive authority from other jurisdictions and the persuasive
concurring opinion of our former Chief Justice all lead us to conclude that
collection of sales tax, as alleged in Garcia’s complaint,7 is not part of the
conduct of trade or commerce under the UTPCPL.
Against the foregoing, Garcia relies on People ex rel. Hartigan v.
Stianos, 475 N.E.2d 1024, 1029 (Ill. App. Ct. 1985), wherein the Illinois
Attorney General alleged that the defendants regularly charged tax above the
statutorily prescribed rate. The Appellate Court of Illinois concluded that the
alleged conduct was actionable under the Illinois consumer protection law,
and that the trial court erred in declining to enter a preliminary injunction
against the defendant. Id. at 1029. We find Stianos distinguishable for
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7 We observe that Garcia’s complaint expressly and specifically alleges
collection of 7 % sales tax on a nontaxable item. Appellant does not allege
that the local sales tax rate was other than 7%, nor does he allege that he
purchased the face masks in a jurisdiction where there is no sales tax. Also,
we are cognizant of Appellants’ arguments that the taxability of cloth face
masks of the type at issue in this litigation was unclear. We have limited our
analysis to the allegations in Garcia’s complaint, as is required on review of
an order overruling preliminary objections.
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several reasons. First, the defendants admitted that the alleged conduct
occurred in the conduct of trade or commerce. Id. at 1028. Thus, the parties
in Stianos did not litigate the issue presently before us, and the Appellate
Court of Illinois had no occasion to opine on it.8 Next, the law in Illinois is that
taxes, paid voluntarily but improperly, cannot be recovered outside of a
statutorily prescribed procedure for obtaining a refund. Karpowicz v. Papa
Murphy’s Intern., LLC, 2016 WL 360 9106 (Ill. App. Ct. July 5, 2016) (citing
Adams v. Jewel Cos. Inc., 348 N.E.2d 161 (Ill. 1976); Hagerty v. General
Motors Corp., 319 N.E.2d 5 (Ill. 1974); Lusinski v. Dominick’s Finer
Foods, 483 N.E.2d 587 (Ill. Ct. App. 1985). Thus, there appears to be no
conflict between the law of Illinois and the above-cited jurisprudence from
Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida. Stianos does not undermine our
conclusion that deference to Blass, Feeney, and BJ’s is warranted under
§ 1927.
Garcia also argues that the dictionary definition of “conduct” is broad
enough to encompass actions that are “related to” the conduct of commerce,
and that collection of sales tax, while not itself the conduct of commerce, is
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8 In an unpublished opinion from the Federal District Court for the District of
Alaska, the Court allowed a claim to go forward with no discussion of whether
the collection of sales tax occurs in the conduct of trade or commerce. Van
v. LLR, Inc., 2021 WL 4238988 (D. Alaska September 16, 2021). In Van, as
in Stianos, the parties apparently did not litigate that issue. Moreover, the
claim in Van was distinct in that the plaintiffs were challenging the imposition
of sales tax in jurisdictions that imposed no sales tax.
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sufficiently related to it. Garcia does not explain where he found the words
“related to” as they do not appear in the operative provisions of the UTPCPL
or in the dictionary definition of the word conduct. Furthermore, as Appellants
point out, the phrase “related to” appears elsewhere in the UTPCPL, but not
in §§ 201-2(3) or 201-3(a). Indeed, one of the unfair methods of competition
and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined by the UTPCPL is as follows:
“Using a contract, form or any other document related to a consumer
transaction which contains a confessed judgment clause that waives the
consumer's right to assert a legal defense to an action. 73 P.S. § 201-
2(4)(xviii) (emphasis added). “[W]here the legislature includes specific
language in one section of the statute and excludes it from another, the
language should not be implied where excluded.” Fonner v. Shandon, Inc.,
724 A.2d 903, 907 (Pa. 1999).
Garcia offers a warranty as an example of something that is “related
to,” but not itself, trade or commerce. Garcia’s Brief at 10. Garcia cites no
authority for this proposition, and we have no occasion to opine on the
actionability of warranties here. We note, however, that warranties can be
advertised and used to influence a consumer’s purchasing decision. Garcia
does not argue that the same is true of sales tax. Indeed, we have already
explained that 61 Pa. Code § 31.2(4) requires that the sales tax, if advertised
at all, be identified separately from the purchase price of the product.
Warranties are entirely distinct from sales tax, and Garcia’s reliance on
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warranties is unavailing.9 After careful review of Garcia’s arguments, we
discern no basis for concluding that activity merely “related to” trade or
commerce is actionable under the UTPCPL.
For all the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the collection of sales
tax on nontaxable items, under circumstances alleged by Garcia in this case
does not occur in the conduct of any trade or commerce, within the meaning
of the UTPCPL.10 The alleged conduct is not actionable under the UTPCPL, and
the trial court erred in overruling Appellants’ preliminary objections.
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9 Garcia’s reliance on the law governing the collection of fees such as hunting
licenses, vehicle towing, telephone bill surcharges, and automobile tax,
transfer and regulation fees (see Garcia’s Brief at 14-15), is similarly
misplaced. This case involves none of those.
10 Garcia alleged that Appellants violated the following provisions of § 201-
2(4):
(4) “Unfair methods of competition” and “unfair or deceptive acts
or practices” mean any one or more of the following:
[…]
(v) Representing that goods or services have sponsorship,
approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits or
quantities that they do not have or that a person has a
sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation or connection that
he does not have;
[…]
(ix) Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell
them as advertised;
[…]
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Order reversed. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judge Murray joins the opinion.
Judge McLaughlin files a concurring opinion in which Judge Stabile and
Judge Murray join.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 3/14/2023
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(xxi) Engaging in any other fraudulent or deceptive conduct
which creates a likelihood of confusion or of
misunderstanding.
73 P.S. § 201-2(4)(v), (ix), (xxi). Garcia requested $100 per violation under
73 P.S. § 201-9.2. Because we find that the collection of sales tax does not
constitute trade or commerce as defined in the UTPCPL, we do not analyze
Garcia’s specific allegations of unfair or deceptive conduct.
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