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CHAPTER 52
WYOMING
A. Scope of the Statute and Elements of a Cause of Action
The Wyoming Consumer Protection Act (WCPA)1 prohibits a person
or entity from knowingly engaging in a “deceptive trade practice” in the
course of his or its business “and in connection with a consumer
transaction.”2 A “consumer transaction” is “the advertising, offering for
sale, sale or distribution of any merchandise to an individual for purposes
that are primarily personal, family, or household.”3 This “merchandise”
can be “any service or any property, tangible or intangible, real, personal
or mixed, or any other object, ware, good commodity, or article of value
wherever situated.”4
The WCPA defines “deceptive trade practices” to include sixteen
specifically identified acts.5 Largely, but not exclusively, these identified
acts involve misrepresentations and misleading statements made in the
advertising or offering of merchandise.6 Accordingly, the Wyoming
Supreme Court has observed that the WCPA “was drafted primarily to
protect consumers from unscrupulous and fraudulent marketing
practices.”7
While its primary aim may be to protect against misleading marketing,
the WCPA does not end there. For example, expressly included in the list
of “deceptive trade practices” are violations of three other Wyoming
statutes involving: (1) use of arrest photographs;8 (2) compliance with
blockchain regulations;9 and (3) sales of tobacco products.10
More broadly, the WCPA also forbids “unfair or deceptive acts or
practices.”11 Although not defined by statute, the Wyoming Supreme
Court has observed that a “deceptive practice” is “one that is likely to
1. WYO. STAT. ANN. §§ 40-12-101 through 40-12-706.
2. Id. § 40-12-105.
3. Id. § 40-12-102(a)(ii).
4. Id. § 40-12-102(a)(vi).
5. Id. § 40-12-105.
6. Id.
7. Herrig v. Herrig, 844 P.2d 487, 495 (Wyo. 1992).
8. WYO. STAT. ANN. § 40-12-105(a)(xvi).
9. Id. § 40-12-105(a)(xvii).
10. Id. § 9-4-1208(e).
11. Id. § 40-12-105(a)(xv).
