Individual Iowans who’re victims of consumer fraud will soon be able to sue for damages.
Today, individual consumers in every other state but Iowa can sue if they feel they’ve been defrauded by an individual or company. For the past 19 years, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has been pressing for Iowa to join the rest of the country and on Monday the Iowa House and Senate voted to do so.
Representative Kurt Swaim, a Democrat from Bloomfield, says legitimate Iowa businesspeople should not fear the new law.
"If you violate the elements of this bill, you’re a bad actor," Swaim says. "You deserve to get hit."
Senator Keith Kreiman, a Democrat who is also from Bloomfield, says consumers who’re deceived should be able to sue.
"I do believe that this is a landmark day for consumers in this state," Kreiman says. "…House File 712 will only effect those individuals who know that what they’re doing is deceiving or misrepresenting or concealing or in some way trying to take advantage of a consumer who is unsophisticated."
The bill passed the House on a 95-1 vote; it passed the Senate on a 48-0 vote and Governor Culver is expected to sign it into law.