U.S. Department of Transportation Publishes Proposed Rule on Defining Unfair and Deceptive Practices
March 2, 2020
The U.S. Department of Transportation on February 20, 2020 published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would codify definitions for the terms “unfair” and “deceptive” in the Department’s regulations implementing its aviation consumer protection statute, and will mirror the definitions used by the Federal Trade Commission. The proposed rule is intended to provide the aviation industry and other stakeholders with greater clarity about DOT’s interpretation of what constitutes an unfair and deceptive practice. Public comments to the NPRM should be filed by April 20, 2020.
Most notably, the proposed rule would require DOT to articulate the basis for concluding that a practice is unfair or deceptive in situations where no existing regulation governs the practice in question in future enforcement orders, state the basis for its conclusion that a practice is unfair or deceptive when it issues discretionary aviation consumer protection regulations, and apply formal hearing procedures for discretionary aviation consumer protection rulemakings. This rule is intended to clarify and explain the policies and procedures for DOT enforcement actions.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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