The Missouri Merchandising Practices Act: Remedies for Consumers

Noland Law Firm attorneys, Douglass F. Noland and Jennifer N. Wettstein, recently had an article featured in the July/August issue of the Journal of the Missouri Bar, titled:  The Missouri Merchandising Practices Act: Remedies for Consumers.

The article outlines the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and the remedies it provides to consumers who have claims involving the purchase or lease of merchandise.   The Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, referred to as the MPA, or MMPA, is found in Chapter 407 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. 

The MPA applies to acts committed “before, during, or after the sale, advertisement, or solicitation” of merchandise.  It provides relief for “any person who has purchased or leased merchandise primarily for personal, family or household purposes, and suffered an ascertainable loss of money, property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of a method, act or practice declared unlawful by section 407.020.”

The MPA provides relief for actual damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and equitable relief.  Claims for damages, actual or punitive, under Section 407.025 are subject to trial by jury. 

When the MPA was adopted in 1967, it was created to supplement  the common law action for fraud and create a distinct statutory fraud action and provide consumers with a means to seek relief for deceptive and unfair practices. 

Please read the rest of the article for more information on the MPA and the remedies it provides for consumers.

The Noland Law Firm, LLC, specializes in representing consumers who had been the subject  of deceptive and unfair practices in the purchase of merchandise.  The attorneys at the Noland Law Firm, have handled hundreds of cases involving the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.  If you have a question about the MPA and would like to talk to the Noland Law Firm, please contact us at 816-781-5055.