Arcangel v. Yardi Systems, Inc.

Plaintiff, both individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, brought an action alleging that defendant violated the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by charging a service fee to tenants who made payments through an online payment platform using a credit card. The circuit court dismissed the lawsuit, finding that plaintiff could not allege unfair or deceptive conduct where plaintiff chose to pay by credit card and where the service fee was disclosed prior to the transaction and plaintiff had a fee-free alternative. The appellate court affirmed, finding that a consumer fraud claim cannot be solely premised on an alleged violation of a contract between third parties and that plaintiff failed to sufficiently allege a claim under the Act. (HYMAN and GAMRATH, concurring)