E.S.
Management v. Gao et al. – Superior Court – November 15, 2017
Landlord
found liable to four Chinese national students at Carnegie Mellon University
*
excessive security deposit (more than two months), in violation of 68 P.S. 250.511a
*
UTPCPL violation – students were in China, had limited English proficiency,
lease at 15 pages, single-spaced,
students given only two days to review it – lease
never executed - L refused to return deposit
*
treble damages award under UTPCPL affirmed – egregious conduct present but not
required -
“Discretion to treble damages under
the UTPCPL should not be closely constrained by the common-law requirements
associated with the award of punitive damages. . . . Nevertheless, the
discretion of courts of original jurisdiction is not limitless, as we believe
that awards of treble damages may be reviewed by the appellate courts for
rationality, akin to appellate review of the discretionary aspect of equitable
awards, as previously discussed. Centrally, courts of original jurisdiction
should focus on the presence of intentional or reckless, wrongful conduct, as
to which an award of treble damages would be consistent with, and in furtherance
of, the remedial purposes of the UTPCPL. Schwartz v. Rockey, 932 A.2d 885, 898
(Pa. 2007) (internal citation and footnote omitted).”
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