COA Allows UDTPA Claim In Employment Context

In Gress v. The Rowboat Company, Inc., the COA allowed the defendants to roll forward with their unfair and deceptive practice claim in the context of an ostensible employment relationship. The COA noted that, generally, there is a presumption against unfair and deceptive practice claims in the employment context because such disputes are not sufficiently in or affecting commerce, a requisite element of a UDTPA claim. Here, however, the employment relationship was a sham. The plaintiff allegedly got his employment gig while conducting due diligence related to his purportedly intended purchase of the defendants' assets and upon the promise to reimburse defendants upon the purchase of the defendants' assets -- a deal plaintiff allegedly never intended to consumate.