GOSHEN v. MUT. LIFE INS. CO.


98 N.Y.2d 314 (2002)

774 N.E.2d 1190

746 N.Y.S.2d 858

PAUL A. GOSHEN, on Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated, Appellant, v. MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK et al., Respondents. WALTER SCOTT et al., on Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Appellants, v. BELL ATLANTIC CORPORATION et al., Respondents.

Court of Appeals of the State of New York.

Decided July 2, 2002.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, New York City (Barry A. Weprin, Melvyn I. Weiss and Mark T. Millkey of counsel), James, Hoyer, Newcomer, Forizs & Smiljanich, P.A., Tampa, Florida, Bonnett, Fairbourn, Freidman & Balint, P.C., Phoenix, Arizona, Parry, Deering, Futscher & Sparks P.S.C., Covington, Kentucky, and Hubbard & Biederman, L.L.P., Dallas, Texas, for appellant in the first above-entitled action.

Dewey Ballantine LLP, New York City (Karvey Kurzweil, Richard W. Reinthaler, James P. Smith III and John E. Schreiber of counsel), and Michael C. Dorf for respondents in the first above-entitled action.

Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, New York City (Mitchell A. Lowenthal, Evan A. Davis and J.J. Gass of counsel), and Victoria E. Fimea, Washington D.C., for American Council of Life Insurers, amicus curiae in the first above-entitled action.

Stamell & Schager, LLP, New York City (Jason L. Solotaroff of counsel), Abbey Gardy, LLP (Joshua N. Rubin of counsel), and Law Offices of Mark S. Kaufman (Mark S. Kaufman of counsel), for appellants in the second above-entitled action.

Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York City (Guy Miller Struve, Nancy B. Ludmerer, D. Scott Tucker, Amy V. Garcia and Edmund Polubinski III of counsel), Robert Ernst and Richard H. Wagner for respondents in the second above-entitled action.

Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General, New York City (Caitlin J. Halligan, Daniel Smirlock, Thomas G. Conway, Kenneth Dreifach, Jane M. Azia and Robert H. Easton of counsel), for Attorney General of the State of New York, amicus curiae in the first and second above-entitled actions.

O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington D.C. (Walter Dellinger, John H. Beisner and Marc E. Isserles of counsel), and National Chamber Litigation Center (Robin Conrad of counsel), for Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, amicus curiae in the first and second above-entitled actions.

Rice & Justice, Albany (John Carter Rice, Lawrence P. Justice and Bradley F. Rice of counsel), for Business Council of New York State, Inc., amicus curiae in the first and second above-entitled actions.

Chief Judge KAYE and Judges WESLEY, ROSENBLATT, GRAFFEO, GREEN and RITTER concur; Judges SMITH and LEVINE taking no part.


OPINION OF THE COURT

CIPARICK, J.

On these appeals we are once again called upon to determine the applicability of New York's Consumer Protection Act. General Business Law § 349 (a) prohibits "[d]eceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in this state." An issue common to both appeals is whether an allegedly deceptive scheme that...

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