Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.020 (2026)

Unlawful practices, penalty

✓ current as of May 2026

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407.020. Unlawful practices, penalty — exceptions. — 1. The act, use or employment by any person of any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, unfair practice or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise in trade or commerce or the solicitation of any funds for any charitable purpose, as defined in section 407.453, in or from the state of Missouri, is declared to be an unlawful practice. The use by any person, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise in trade or commerce or the solicitation of any funds for any charitable purpose, as defined in section 407.453, in or from the state of Missouri of the fact that the attorney general has approved any filing required by this chapter as the approval, sanction or endorsement of any activity, project or action of such person, is declared to be an unlawful practice. Any act, use or employment declared unlawful by this subsection violates this subsection whether committed before, during or after the sale, advertisement or solicitation.

2. Nothing contained in this section shall apply to:

(1) The owner or publisher of any newspaper, magazine, publication or printed matter wherein such advertisement appears, or the owner or operator of a radio or television station which disseminates such advertisement when the owner, publisher or operator has no knowledge of the intent, design or purpose of the advertiser;

(2) Any institution, company, or entity that is subject to chartering, licensing, or regulation by the director of the department of commerce and insurance under chapter 354 or chapters 374 to 385, the director of the division of credit unions under chapter 370, or director of the division of finance under chapters 361 to 369, or chapter 371, unless such directors specifically authorize the attorney general to implement the powers of this chapter or such powers are provided to either the attorney general or a private citizen by statute; or

(3) Any advertisement, merchandise, or transaction in which the merchandise consists of a new residence in a transaction in which the buyer is offered and accepts in the sale contract an express warranty by the builder or through a third-party warranty company paid for by the builder and the sale contract contains substantially the following disclaimer in all capital letters with characters of at least ten-point type: "THIS CONTRACT, MERCHANDISE AND PROPERTY CONVEYED UNDER THIS CONTRACT AND THE TRANSACTION BETWEEN THE SELLER AND BUYER IS EXCLUDED FROM COVERAGE UNDER THE MERCHANDISING PRACTICES ACT, SECTIONS 407.010 TO 407.130, RSMO.". As used in this section, the term "residence" shall mean a single-family house, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, or a unit in a multiunit residential structure in which title to each individual unit is transferred to the owner under a condominium or cooperative system and shall include common areas and common elements as defined in subdivision (4) of section 448.1-103.

3. Any person who willfully and knowingly engages in any act, use, employment or practice declared to be unlawful by this section with the intent to defraud shall be guilty of a class E felony.

4. It shall be the duty of each prosecuting attorney and circuit attorney in their respective jurisdictions to commence any criminal actions under this section, and the attorney general shall have concurrent original jurisdiction to commence such criminal actions throughout the state where such violations have occurred.

5. It shall be an unlawful practice for any long-term care facility, as defined in section 192.2300, except a facility which is a residential care facility or an assisted living facility, as defined in section 198.006, which makes, either orally or in writing, representation to residents, prospective residents, their families or representatives regarding the quality of care provided, or systems or methods utilized for assurance or maintenance of standards of care to refuse to provide copies of documents which reflect the facility's evaluation of the quality of care, except that the facility may remove information that would allow identification of any resident. If the facility is requested to provide any copies, a reasonable amount, as established by departmental rule, may be charged.

6. Any long-term care facility, as defined in section 192.2300, which commits an unlawful practice under this section shall be liable for damages in a civil action of up to one thousand dollars for each violation, and attorney's fees and costs incurred by a prevailing plaintiff, as allowed by the circuit court.

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(L. 1967 p. 607 § 2, A.L. 1973 H.B. 55, A.L. 1985 H.B. 96, et al., A.L. 1986 S.B. 685, A.L. 1992 S.B. 705, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1165, A.L. 1995 H.B. 409, A.L. 2000 S.B. 763, A.L. 2008 S.B. 788, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491, A.L. 2020 S.B. 591)

CROSS REFERENCE:

Applicability of statute changes for cases filed after August 28, 2020, 510.262

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 290 cases (87 in the last 5 years), 1973–2026 · leading case: Missouri Health Care Ass'n v. Attorney Gen., 953 S.W.2d 617 (Mo. 1997).

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Missouri Health Care Ass'n v. Attorney Gen., 953 S.W.2d 617 (Mo. 1997). · cites it 67× “MHCA alleged that it had standing to challenge CCSHB 409 because the amendments to section 407.020 injured MHCA’s members. MHCA asserted that CCSHB 409 violates the Missouri Constitution on the following grounds: the subject of the bill is not clearly expressed in its title, in…”

Hess v. Chase Manhattan Bank, USA, N.A., 220 S.W.3d 758 (Mo. 2007). · cites it 24× “Section 407.020 has at all times proscribed deceptive or fraudulent acts in connection with the sale of "merchandise," sec.”

Ports Petroleum Co., Inc. of Ohio v. Nixon, 37 S.W.3d 237 (Mo. 2001). · cites it 16× “Section 407.020, the substantive component of the MPA, states in pertinent part: 1.”

State v. Shaw, 847 S.W.2d 768 (Mo. 1993). · cites it 27× “The State charged Charles Shaw (“Shaw”) with four counts of unlawful merchandising practices in violation of Section 407.020, RSMo 1986, 1 a Class D felony.”

State Ex Rel. Mobile Home Estates, Inc. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 921 S.W.2d 5 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 32× “090; (3) If a corporation, failing to file all franchise or sales tax forms required by Missouri law; (4) Engaging in any conduct which constitutes a violation of the provisions of section 407.020, RSMo; (5) Failing to comply with the provisions of section 2301-2312 of Title 15…”

State v. Polley, 2 S.W.3d 887 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 22× “Polley had engaged in “unfair practices” under section 407.020 1 because some of the contracts with consumers were formed prior to the effective date of 15 CSR 60-8.”

Meyers v. Kendrick, 529 S.W.3d 54 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 18× “Bank contends that it is exempt from the provisions of section 407.020 because subsection two of that section provides that nothing contained in section 407.”

Fielder v. Credit Acceptance Corp., 19 F. Supp. 2d 966 (W.D. Mo. 1998). · cites it 32× “025 which states: Any person who purchases or leases goods or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes and thereby suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of a method, act…”

Huch v. Charter Commc'ns, Inc., 290 S.W.3d 721 (Mo. 2009). · cites it 8× “Section 407.020. Section 407.020 provides that certain acts “in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise in trade or commerce” are unlawful.”

Scott v. Blue Springs Ford Sales, Inc., 215 S.W.3d 145 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 9× “1 1 of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA), for violation of § 407.020 of the MMPA with respect to the undisclosed condition of the Explorer at the time of sale; in Count III, he sought both compensatory and punitive damages for conversion by BSF of the payment Scott…”

Kathy Haywood v. Massage Envy Franchising, LLC, 887 F.3d 329 (7th Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “The entirety of the allegations regarding Holt’s experience with Massage Envy are contained in six sentences over four paragraphs of the 76‐page complaint. She states that she called the Oakville, Missouri, franchise location to make an appoint‐ ment for a one‐hour massage after…”

Davis R. Conway & Sheri D. Conway v. CitiMortgage, Inc. & Fed. Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n, Inc., 438 S.W.3d 410 (Mo. 2014). · cites it 6× “Homeowners appeal from the trial court’s judgment dismissing their claim against Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and CitiMortgage under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA), section 407.020, 1 for an alleged wrongful foreclosure of a deed of trust.”

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— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.020(1) — 15 cases

Hawkins v. Nestle U.S.A. Inc., 309 F. Supp. 3d 696 (E.D. Mo. 2018).

State Ex Rel. Nixon v. Telco Directory Publ'g, 863 S.W.2d 596 (Mo. 1993).

Barnhill v. Iowa Dist. Court for Polk Cnty., 765 N.W.2d 267 (Iowa 2009).

In re Sony Gaming Networks & Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 996 F. Supp. 2d 942 (S.D. Cal. 2014).

In Re New Motor Vehs. Canadian Exp. Antitrust Litig., 350 F. Supp. 2d 160 (D. Me. 2004).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.020(2) — 2 cases

Jodie Nevils v. Grp. Health Plan, Inc., & ACS Recovery Servs., Inc., 418 S.W.3d 451 (Mo. 2014).

Garland v. Nationstar Mortg. LLC (E.D. Mo. 2020).

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