Curtis Amicus Brief Requesting the Overturn of the “Public Benefit” Restriction

This Court should overturn the “public benefit” restriction created in Ly v. Nystrom, 615 N.W.2d 302 (Minn. 2000). That decision required private plaintiffs to demonstrate that the alleged deceptive conduct was broadly disseminated and required dismissal of statutory fraud violations that arise solely in a “one-on-one transaction.” Id. at 314. The public benefit restriction has effectively ended private actions under statutory fraud laws for individuals, farmers and other small business purchasers subject to marketplace deception.