Strengthening our local consumer protection law  

In March 2025, the DC Council introduced the Enhancing Consumer Protection Procedures Amendment Act of 2025, and a public hearing was held in October 2025. The Consumer Protection Procedures Act, or CPPA, is DC’s premier consumer protection statute, and both our local government and private citizens use the CPPA to enforce consumer rights in the District.  

The bill would strengthen and expand the ability of the DC Office of the Attorney General and the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection to enforce the law. Importantly for Legal Aid’s clients, the bill would also clarify what kind of businesses and abusive trade practices are covered by the CPPA, prohibit businesses from retaliating against a consumer, and increase the amount of statutory damages a consumer may recover through a CPPA claim.  

In our testimony in support of the bill, we explained that companies like mortgage servicers often try to evade liability by arguing for a narrow or limited interpretation of what entities are covered by the CPPA. In short, companies like these argue that the CPPA does not apply to them, and so harmed consumers cannot seek relief under the law. The proposed amendments would put an end to these attempts to evade the law by mortgage servicers and other companies that consumers rely on for important aspects of their daily lives.

We commend the Public Works Committee for planning to move this bill to markup in late January and urge the full Council to seize the opportunity to protect consumers by advancing the bill at the following legislative meeting, so that abusive businesses can no longer evade accountability and consumers can obtain real relief under the CPPA.

Reducing the burden of medical debt on District residents

In October 2025, the Council introduced a bill designed to reduce the harmful effects of medical debt on our community. The legislation would ease the burden of medical debt in many ways, including by requiring DC hospitals to improve their financial assistance polices; requiring facilities to offer payment plans to all low-income patients; prohibiting reporting of medical debt on credit reports; and limiting the promotion of medical lending products. The bill would also enhance protections for residents dealing with medical debt that has gone to collections and give more enforcement and oversight powers to the DC government.  

Legal Aid testified in support of the bill and looks forward to working with the Council as it moves forward in the legislative process. Mitigating the harmful effects of medical debt is more important than ever given federal and local changes leading to reductions in health insurance coverage.  

Holding utility companies accountable

A unique aspect of DC’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act is that it allows nonprofit and public interest organizations like Legal Aid DC to file lawsuits on behalf of consumers who have been subjected to unfair or deceptive practices. This concept is referred to as “organizational standing.”  

Unfortunately, in a recent decision, a panel of judges from the DC Court of Appeals decided that public interest organizations did not have organizational standing to bring a CPPA claim against Washington Gas on behalf of consumers. The court found that it was bound by precedent to conclude that existing limitations in the CPPA that prohibit the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection from bringing CPPA enforcement actions against utility providers also apply to the private right of action—the right of action that allows Legal Aid to bring these types of cases to court on behalf of its clients.  

Given the negative impacts of the decision on Legal Aid’s client community, Legal Aid joined Tzedek DC, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in petitioning for the case to be reheard in front of the entire DC Court of Appeals, also known as en banc review. The amicus brief for rehearing en banc explained the importance of holding utility providers accountable under the CPPA given the high costs of energy and phone services in DC. Those costs are felt acutely by our clients who regularly experience disconnections and shutoffs. In late December, the court granted the petition for en banc review, meaning the case will be reheard before the full court later this year. We are hopeful that the court will restore our ability to bring CPPA cases against utility providers on behalf of our client community.

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Strengthening consumer rights and ensuring accountability are more important than ever. As federal consumer protections are weakened, DC has to step up and close the gap so that Washingtonians don’t have their livelihoods threatened by dishonest, predatory, or abusive business tactics.