DAVIS, Judge:
¶ 1 Hugo and Claudia Martinez appeal the trial court's ruling in favor of Best Buy Co. on claims the Martinezes brought under section 13-11-4 of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act (the UCSPA), which proscribes "deceptive act[s] or practice[s] by a supplier in connection with a consumer transaction," see Utah Code Ann. § 13-11-4(1) (Supp. 2011). We affirm.
¶ 2 On March 6, 2008, the Martinezes applied for a Best Buy credit card, which was issued by a credit card company called HSBC.
¶ 3 Before addressing the substance of the Martinezes' arguments, we must first consider the standard for determining whether a supplier has violated the UCSPA by engaging in deceptive acts or practices. The Martinezes point us to the language of Utah Code section 13-11-2, which provides that the UCSPA "shall be construed liberally to promote," among other things, the policy of making "state regulation of consumer sales practices not inconsistent with the policies of the Federal Trade Commission Act [FTCA] relating to consumer protection." Id. § 13-11-2(4) (2009). In light of this provision, they urge us to interpret "deceptive" the same way the federal courts do under the FTCA, that is, by eliminating intent as an element of a deceptive act or practice and focusing instead on whether "the business entity made material representations likely to mislead ordinary consumers to their detriment." Federal Trade Comm'n v. Freecom Commc'ns, Inc., 401 F.3d 1192, 1202-03 (10th Cir.2005) (emphasis omitted); see also ASRC Energy Servs. Power & Commc'ns, LLC v. Golden Valley Elec. Ass'n, 267 P.3d 1151, 1163 (Alaska 2011) (per curiam) ("`To show deception under the [FTCA], intent, scienter, actual reliance or damage, and even actual deception are unnecessary. All that is required is proof that a practice has a tendency or capacity (or, under the FTC's latest formulation, is likely) to deceive even a significant minority of consumers.'" (quoting National Consumer Law Center, Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices § 4.2.3.1, at 190 (7th ed. 2008))).
¶ 4 However, the plain language of the UCSPA specifically identifies intentional or knowing behavior as an element of a deceptive act or practice, see Utah Code Ann. § 13-11-4(2), making it inappropriate to construe the UCSPA as the Martinezes urge.
¶ 5 The Martinezes allege that the following actions by Best Buy were deceptive in violation of the UCSPA: (1) the employee assisting the Martinezes with their credit card application instructed them to sign in two places in order to get the credit card even though the second place they were told to sign referred to the account shield service rather than the credit card; (2) the employee failed to explain the account shield service, to inform the Martinezes that it was a separate product from the credit card, or to inform them that by signing the second line they were agreeing to enrollment in the account shield service; (3) the Martinezes were neither offered nor provided a Spanish translation of the credit card application, despite the fact that the application required them to attest that they had been; (4) the application did not disclose the cost of the account shield service; and (5) Best Buy informed HSBC that both of the Martinezes had agreed to purchase the account shield service despite the fact that only Claudia Martinez signed that portion of the application. We address each of these allegations in turn.
¶ 6 The Martinezes first argue that the employee's representation that they were required to sign in both places was deceptive in violation of the UCSPA. The trial court found that the employee did falsely represent to the Martinezes that they were required to sign in both places in order to get the credit card when, in fact, they needed only to sign the first portion of the application.
¶ 7 The Martinezes challenge the trial court's use of contract principles in its analysis, arguing that it was improper for the trial court to determine that this allegedly deceptive act did not violate the UCSPA based solely on its determination that the correct information was provided in the application. As the Martinezes point out, one of the purposes of the UCSPA is "to protect consumers from suppliers who commit deceptive and unconscionable sales practices," Utah Code Ann. § 13-11-2(2). Thus, the fact that the Martinezes could have better protected themselves by reading the terms of the application would not necessarily bar them from recovering under the UCSPA if Best Buy had knowingly or intentionally deceived them as to the contents of the application. Cf. Semenov v. Hill, 1999 UT 58, ¶ 12, 982 P.2d 578 (emphasizing that a party will be bound by the provisions of a contract he signed, despite failing to read it, "`in the absence of fraud or mistake'" (quoting 17 C.J.S. Contracts § 41(f) (1963) (current version at 17 C.J.S. Contracts § 50 (2011)))); Sosa v. Paulos, 924 P.2d 357, 363 (Utah 1996) (holding that a party's "duty to read and understand the terms of a contract before signing it ... is obviated when the party's failure to read the agreement results from the procedurally unconscionable behavior of the party in the stronger bargaining position" (citation omitted)).
¶ 8 Nevertheless, even accepting the Martinezes' argument that the employee's misrepresentation was sufficiently deceptive to violate the UCSPA, the Martinezes presented
¶ 9 The Martinezes also contend that Best Buy was deceptive because it failed to notify them that the second signature line related to the account shield service and that acceptance of that product would result in additional fees. The UCSPA is intended not only to protect consumers but also to "protect suppliers who in good faith comply with [its] provisions." Utah Code Ann. § 13-11-2(6) (2009). Best Buy's failure to orally explain the account shield service is not comparable to the specific categories of deceptive acts and practices listed in the UCSPA. See id. § 13-11-4(2) (Supp.2011) (listing a variety of affirmative misrepresentations as violations of the UCSPA). See generally Whitney v. Division of Juvenile Justice Servs., 2012 UT 12, ¶ 14, 274 P.3d 906 ("Under the doctrine of ejusdum generis, we read a statute's use of a term or phrase as restricted to include things of the same kind, class, character, or nature as those specifically enumerated." (internal quotation marks omitted)). Moreover, the Martinezes point us to no evidence that could support a finding that the absence of an explanation separate from that in the application was intended to deceive them. Thus, we agree with the trial court that the Martinezes failed to demonstrate that these actions violated the UCSPA.
¶ 10 For the same reasons, we are not convinced that the employee's failure to provide the Martinezes with a Spanish translation of the application was deceptive. Furthermore, the trial court specifically determined that there was no evidence to support a finding that Best Buy knowingly or intentionally deprived them of the translation. "The determination of whether a person had the [requisite] intent is one of fact for the [trial] court." Wade v. Jobe, 818 P.2d 1006, 1016 (Utah 1991), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in Carlie v. Morgan, 922 P.2d 1, 6 (Utah 1996). The Martinezes have neither marshaled the evidence in support of this finding nor made any argument regarding Best Buy's intent apart from their argument that they did not need to show intent, which was made without even a passing reference to binding Utah authority to the contrary. Therefore, we uphold the trial court's determination that the employee's failure to provide the Martinezes with a Spanish translation of the application did not violate the UCSPA.
¶ 11 Next, the Martinezes contest the trial court's finding that the application adequately informed the Martinezes that there would be a charge associated with the account shield service and that the application was therefore not deceptive. The language in the application addressing the account shield service did not specifically identify any cost associated with the service. However, it did require the applicant to attest, "I authorize the monthly charge on my account when I have a balance." A Best Buy representative testified at trial that the application indicated that the cost of the account shield service was "based on the balance of the account." The trial court determined that it was incapable of reading the blurry copy of the application provided to it and therefore relied on the representative's testimony in finding that there was "an indication and language in th[e account shield] provision that would reflect a charge" for the service and, specifically, that the application disclosed that the cost would
¶ 12 Although we agree that the copy of the application provided to the trial court was extremely difficult to read, it was not completely indecipherable and ought to have been considered by the trial court. Thus, it was error for the trial court to find that the application identified the cost as "`a portion of the balance based upon the balance of the account,'" since no such language is actually contained in the application. However, the trial court did not clearly err in finding that the language of the account shield provision indicated that there was a charge associated with the service, given that the application clearly refers to such a charge. In any event, the Martinezes do not claim that they were induced to sign up for the account service because they thought there was no cost or that the cost was lower than it was; rather, they maintain that they were completely unaware they were signing up for the service. Given that they did not read the application and did not actually intend to sign up for the account shield service, regardless of the cost, we cannot see how a clearer statement of the cost of the service in the application would have prevented them from inadvertently signing up for it.
¶ 13 Finally, the Martinezes allege that Best Buy acted deceptively by informing HSBC that both of the Martinezes had signed up for the account shield service when only Claudia Martinez had signed that portion of the application. However, this allegation is not supported by the evidence. At trial, the only evidence relating to this issue was the testimony of the Best Buy representative. The representative testified that when a customer fills out an application for a Best Buy credit card, an employee generally enters the information from the application into Best Buy's computer, from which it is transmitted to HSBC, and that the employee then mails the original application to HSBC. The representative testified that the information entered into the computer includes whether the account shield service was requested. However, this general testimony provides no evidence of what precise information was entered into the computer with respect to the Martinezes' application, and there is nothing to indicate that the employee entering the information affirmatively represented that Hugo Martinez had individually signed up for the account shield service. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that HSBC received a copy of the actual application, which clearly contains only Claudia Martinez's signature on the account shield portion. And, as with the Martinezes' other allegations, they have presented no evidence that any misrepresentation that may have been made in entering the information into the computer was either knowing or intentional. Thus, we agree with the trial court that the Martinezes failed to demonstrate that Best Buy's communication with HSBC regarding the Martinezes' application was deceptive under the UCSPA.
¶ 14 In sum, we reject the Martinezes' assertion that intent is not an element of a deceptive act or practice under the UCSPA. Furthermore, we reject the Martinezes' arguments that Best Buy violated the UCSPA by engaging in the various acts discussed above. Thus, we affirm the trial court's ruling in favor of Best Buy.
¶ 15 WE CONCUR: CAROLYN B. McHUGH, Presiding Judge and WILLIAM A. THORNE JR., Judge.
Dipoma v. McPhie, 2001 UT 61, ¶ 18, 29 P.3d 1225 (internal quotation marks omitted).