Q: If a business says they're open until 7p, but locks their doors at 6:45p, is this False Advertising?
I'm a manager at a business, and due to legal restraints, we can not make sales after 7pm (mst). Therefor, in the interest of avoiding situations where in which we may be helping a guest and then have to cancel the sale simply because of the time-of-day.
A:
False advertising claims require the following elements (all must be meet for a legitimate claim): (1) false/misleading statements about a product; (2) deception (or tendency to substantially deceive); (3) the deception is material; (4) likelihood of injury to a party; and (5) interstate commerce (for federal claims only).
Turning to closing, there should be no false/misleading statements about a product/service, no material deception or likelihood of injury. In short, a false advertising claim is very, very unlikely. Closing a bit earlier may irritate some customers, but an angry customer is not a legal issue...
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