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CHAPTER 18
KANSAS
A. Scope of the Statute and Elements of a Cause of Action
The Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA)1 seeks “(a) [t]o
simplify, clarify and modernize the law governing consumer transactions;
(b) to protect consumers from suppliers who commit deceptive and
unconscionable practices; (c) to protect consumers from unbargained for
warranty disclosures; and (d) to provide consumers with a three-day
cancellation period for door-to-door sales.”2 When interpreting the KCPA,
courts may turn to the FTC’s rules, regulations, and interpretations of the
FTC Act, although the KCPA lacks an express provision providing such
direction.3 Purported contractual waivers and agreements to forgo rights
under the KCPA are generally unenforceable.4
1. Deceptive Acts and Practices
To accomplish its stated goals, the KCPA prohibits a “supplier” from
engaging “in any deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer
transaction.”5 For purposes of the act, the term “[s]upplier means a
manufacturer, distributor, dealer, seller, lessor, assignor, or other person
who, in the ordinary course of business, solicits, engages in or enforces
consumer transactions.”6
The term “[c]onsumer transaction means a sale, lease, assignment or
other disposition for value of property within this state . . . to a consumer;
1. KAN. STAT. ANN. §§ 50-623 to 50-643.
2. Id. § 50-623.
1101 (Kan. 2013).
5. KAN. STAT. ANN. § 50-626(a).
6. Id. § 50-624(j). The term “supplier,” however, “does not include any bank,
trust company or lender institution which is subject to state or federal
regulation with regard to disposition of repossessed collateral.” Id. This
provision categorically exempts all regulated banks from coverage as a
“supplier” regardless of whether the challenged conduct relates to
“disposition of repossessed collateral.” See Community First Nat’l Bank v.
Nichols, 443 P.3d 322, 331 (Kan. Ct. App. 2019).
