Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act
Under the Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act, “a person engages in a deceptive trade practice when, in the course of his or her business, vocation, or occupation, the person disparages the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representation of fact.” 815 ILCS 510/2.
A claim for commercial disparagement under the Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act may be stated where the plaintiff alleges that the defendant knowingly and intentionally made false or misleading statements to one or more actual or potential customers of the plaintiff. Illinois Jurisprudence, Commercial Law § 21:6. In addition, to prove a cause of action for commercial disparagement, under the Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a plaintiff must prove that: (1) the defendant intends for the publication of the statement to result in harm to the interests of the plaintiff having a pecuniary value, or either recognizes or should have recognized that it is likely to do so; and (2) the defendant knows the statement is false or acts in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Illinois Jurisprudence, Personal Injury and Torts § 11:82. Statements that may satisfy the requirement of false or misleading statements may be made to the effect that the plaintiff's products were unsatisfactorily made, unsafe, ineffective, and poorly designed; or that the plaintiff would not be able to perform in accordance with prior assurances of promised delivery schedules or other critical service-related concerns of customers. Illinois Jurisprudence, Commercial Law § 21:6.
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About Tamari & Blumenthal, LLC: Tamari & Blumenthal, LLC is a Chicago-based business litigation and business law firm. The law firm represents clients in a broad range of business disputes. Attorneys Walid J. Tamari and Grant Blumenthal are the law firm’s co-managing partners.
