2006 New York Code - Prize Award Schemes.

 
    §  369-ee.  Prize  award  schemes.   1. Written disclosure. (a) Unless
  written disclosure  is  made  as  provided  in  paragraph  (c)  of  this
  subdivision, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
  offer a consumer a prize as part of any prize award scheme.
    (b)  For  purposes  of this section, "prize award scheme" shall mean a
  promotion, solicitation,  or  advertisement  either  oral,  written,  or
  otherwise  for  the  purchase  or  lease  of  a product, real estate, an
  investment, services, a membership, or any other item: (i) in which  the
  outcome  depends  in  a  material  degree  upon  an  element  of chance,
  notwithstanding that skill or performance of the consumer may also be  a
  factor  therein;  (ii) where the consumer is told that he has won or may
  win a prize or award, or is told that he or she is or may be the  winner
  of  a  contest,  or  where  similar  language is used which would lead a
  consumer to believe that he or she has won or may win a prize or  award;
  and  (iii)  which  requires the consumer to do something (including, but
  not limited to, traveling to a location to accept the  prize,  listening
  to  a  sales  presentation, submitting one's credit card account number,
  allowing a sales person into one's  home  or  responding  orally  or  in
  writing).
    (c)  Such  written disclosure must be furnished to the consumer at the
  time he is notified of the prize and must be written  or  printed  in  a
  size equal to at least that type used for the standard text on the front
  of the first page of the offer.  The written disclosure must clearly and
  conspicuously  disclose all of the following:  (i) a full description of
  the exact prize won by the consumer including a list  price  which  does
  not  appreciably exceed the highest price at which substantial sales are
  made in the offering  area;  (ii)  all  material  terms  and  conditions
  attached  to  the  prize;  (iii) a statement, where applicable, that the
  consumer must submit to a sales presentation; (iv) a full description of
  the product, real estate, investment, services, membership or any  other
  item  to be offered for sale, including the price of the least expensive
  and the most expensive item or parcel; (v) a notice that if the consumer
  decides to purchase any item offered for sale he has three business days
  in which to cancel such sale; and (vi) the odds of  winning  each  prize
  must be conspicuously disclosed in the same type face, size and boldness
  and adjacent to the most prominent listing of the prizes on the front of
  the  first page of the offer, with the odds stated in arabic numbers and
  identify the total number of prizes to  be  given  away  and  the  total
  number of offerings to be distributed.
    (d)  It shall be unlawful to (i) represent that a person is a "winner"
  or has been "selected", or  words  of  similar  import  when  all  or  a
  substantial  number  of  those  solicited  receive  the  same "prize" or
  "opportunity" or (ii) deliver, or cause to be delivered, a prize  notice
  or offering, which simulates or falsely represents that it is a document
  authorized,  issued or approved by any court, official, or agency of the
  United States or any state, lawyer, law firm, or insurance or  brokerage
  company,  or  which  creates  a  false  impression  as  to  its  source,
  authorization, or approval; or (iii) deliver, or cause to be  delivered,
  a prize notice or offering which is in the form of, or a prize notice or
  offering  which  includes,  a  document which simulates a bond, check or
  other negotiable instrument, whether or not  that  document  contains  a
  statement   or   some   other  indication  which  suggests  that  it  is
  non-negotiable.
    2. Right of cancellation. In addition to any other right to revoke  an
  offer,  the consumer may cancel a sale made as a result of a prize award
  solicitation until midnight of the third business day after the  day  on
  which  he  signed  a  sales  agreement. Cancellation occurs when written
  notice of cancellation is given to the seller. Notice  of  cancellation,
  if  given  by  mail,  shall  be deemed given when deposited in a mailbox
  properly addressed and postage pre-paid.
    3. Form of notice. (a) In a sale consummated as a result of or made in
  association  with  a prize award scheme, the seller shall furnish to the
  buyer (i) a fully completed receipt or copy of any  contract  pertaining
  to  such  sale  at  the  time  of  its  execution,  which is in the same
  language, e.g.   Spanish, as that principally used  in  the  oral  sales
  presentation  and  which  shows the date of the transaction and contains
  the name and address of the seller, and in immediate  proximity  to  the
  space  reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer or on the
  front page of the receipt if a contract is not used and in not less than
  ten-point bold face type, a statement  in  substantially  the  following
  form:
 
          "YOU,  THE  BUYER,  MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION AT ANY
          TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD BUSINESS DAY AFTER
          THE DATE OF THIS TRANSACTION. SEE THE ATTACHED  NOTICE
          OF  CANCELLATION  FORM  FOR  AN  EXPLANATION  OF  THIS
          RIGHT."; and
 
    (ii) at the time the buyer signs the contract or otherwise  agrees  to
  buy  consumer  goods  or  services  from the seller, a completed form in
  duplicate, captioned "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION", which shall  be  attached
  to  the  contract  or  receipt  and  easily  detachable, and which shall
  contain in  not  less  than  ten-point  bold  face  type  the  following
  information  and  statements in the same language, e.g. Spanish, as that
  used in the contract:
 
                           NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
                         (enter date of transaction)
 
                  _________________________________________
 
                                   (Date)
 
  YOU MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION,  WITHOUT  ANY  PENALTY  OR  OBLIGATION,
  WITHIN THREE BUSINESS DAYS FROM THE ABOVE DATE.
 
  IF  YOU  CANCEL,  ANY PROPERTY TRADED IN, ANY PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU UNDER
  THE CONTRACT OR SALE, AND ANY NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENT EXECUTED BY YOU WILL
  BE RETURNED WITHIN 10 BUSINESS DAYS FOLLOWING RECEIPT BY THE  SELLER  OF
  YOUR  CANCELLATION  NOTICE, AND ANY SECURITY INTEREST ARISING OUT OF THE
  TRANSACTION WILL BE CANCELLED.
 
  IF YOU CANCEL, YOU MUST MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE SELLER AT YOUR  RESIDENCE,
  IN SUBSTANTIALLY AS GOOD CONDITION AS WHEN RECEIVED, ANY GOODS DELIVERED
  TO  YOU UNDER THIS CONTRACT OR SALE; OR YOU MAY IF YOU WISH, COMPLY WITH
  THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE SELLER REGARDING  THE  RETURN  SHIPMENT  OF  THE
  GOODS AT THE SELLER'S EXPENSE AND RISK.
 
  IF YOU DO MAKE THE GOODS AVAILABLE TO THE SELLER AND THE SELLER DOES NOT
  PICK  THEM  UP  WITHIN  TWENTY  DAYS  OF  THE  DATE  OF  YOUR  NOTICE OF
  CANCELLATION, YOU MAY RETAIN OR DISPOSE OF THE GOODS WITHOUT ANY FURTHER
  OBLIGATION.  IF YOU FAIL TO MAKE THE GOODS AVAILABLE TO THE  SELLER,  OR
  IF  YOU  AGREE TO RETURN THE GOODS TO THE SELLER AND FAIL TO DO SO, THEN
  YOU REMAIN LIABLE FOR PERFORMANCE OF ALL OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE CONTRACT.
  TO CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION, MAIL OR DELIVER A SIGNED AND DATED  COPY  OF
  THIS  CANCELLATION  NOTICE  OR  ANY  OTHER  WRITTEN  NOTICE,  OR  SEND A
  TELEGRAM, TO
 
  (Name of Seller),               AT       Address of Seller
 
  __________________            _________________________________
 
  (Place of Business)             NOT LATER THAN MIDNIGHT OF
 
  __________________
 
  __________________
 
     (Date)
 
  I HEREBY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION.
 
  _________________
 
     (Date)
                                ______________________________
                                     (Buyer's Signature)
 
  and  the  seller  shall complete both copies by entering the name of the
  seller, the address of the seller's place of business, the date  of  the
  transaction,  and  the  date,  not  earlier  than the third business day
  following the date of the transaction,  by  which  the  buyer  may  give
  notice of cancellation.
    (a-1)  In  a sale or lease to be consummated as a result of or made in
  association with a prize award scheme, the seller  shall  not  employ  a
  courier to pick up and deliver or a courier pick-up and delivery service
  to  retrieve a buyer's deposit or payment unless the seller is otherwise
  authorized  to  do  business  in  this  state  in  accordance  with  the
  requirements  of  the  business  corporation  law  or the not-for-profit
  corporation law. If the seller fails to comply with  this  section,  the
  buyer  or  any other person obligated for any part of the purchase price
  may cancel the contract or lease at any time by notifying the seller  in
  any manner and by any means of his or her intention to cancel.
    (b) In a sale consummated as a result of or made in association with a
  prize  award  scheme,  the seller shall inform each buyer orally, at the
  time he signs the contract or purchases the goods or  services,  of  his
  right  to cancel.   Until the seller has complied with this section, the
  buyer or any other person obligated for any part of the  purchase  price
  may cancel the contract by notifying the seller in any manner and by any
  means  of  his  intention  to  cancel.    The  period prescribed by this
  subdivision shall begin to run from the time the  seller  complies  with
  this section.
    (c)  A  prize  award  scheme contract or receipt shall not include any
  confession of judgment or any waiver of any of the rights to  which  the
  buyer is entitled under this section including specifically his right to
  cancel the sale in accordance with the provisions of this article.
    (d)  This section shall not apply to the use of promotional materials,
  gifts or prizes distributed without charge or  expense  to  any  person,
  firm or corporation.
    (e)  This section shall not apply to the use of promotional materials,
  gifts, or prizes by a retail store primarily engaged in the retail  sale
  of  goods or services for which this type of promotion is incidental and
  which requires the customer only to travel  to  the  merchant's  regular
  place of business to receive the gift, prize or award.
    (f)   This   section   shall   not   apply   to  the  solicitation  or
  representations offering a consumer a prize in connection with: (i)  the
  sale  or purchase of books, recordings, videocassettes, periodicals, and
  similar goods through a membership group or club which is  regulated  by
  the  federal  trade  commission pursuant to Code of Federal Regulations,
  title 16, part 425.1 concerning use of negative option plans by  sellers
  in  commerce;  (ii)  the  sale  or  purchase  of goods ordered through a
  contractual plan or arrangement such as a continuity plan,  subscription
  arrangement, or a single sale or purchase series arrangement under which
  the  seller  ships  goods  to a consumer who has consented in advance to
  receive the goods and after receipt of the goods is given  a  reasonable
  opportunity to examine the goods and to receive a full refund of charges
  for  the  goods, upon return of the goods undamaged; or (iii) sales by a
  catalog seller. For purposes of this  section,  "catalog  seller"  shall
  mean  any entity (and its subsidiaries) or person at least fifty percent
  of whose annual revenues are derived from the sale of products  sold  in
  connection  with  the  distribution  of catalogs of at least twenty-four
  pages, which contain written  descriptions  or  illustrations  and  sale
  prices  for  each  item of merchandise and which are distributed in more
  than one state with a total annual distribution of at least two  hundred
  fifty thousand.
    4.  Violations. Upon any violation of this section, an application may
  be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of  the  state
  to  a  court  or justice having jurisdiction to issue an injunction, and
  upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to  enjoin  and
  restrain  the  continuance  of  the violation. If it shall appear to the
  satisfaction of the court or justice that  the  defendant  has  violated
  this  section,  an  injunction  may  be  issued by the court or justice,
  enjoining and restraining any further violation, without requiring proof
  that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged  thereby.  In  any
  such  proceeding,  the court may make allowances to the attorney general
  as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section  eighty-three
  hundred   three  of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  and  direct
  restitution. Whenever the court shall  determine  a  violation  of  this
  section has occurred, it may impose a civil penalty of not more than one
  thousand  dollars  for each violation. In connection with an application
  made under this subdivision, the attorney general is authorized to  take
  proof  and  to  make  a determination of the relevant facts and to issue
  subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
    5. Effect of other laws.   The obligations  imposed  by  this  section
  shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the requirements of any
  other law.
    6. Applicability. The provisions of subdivisions two and three of this
  section shall not apply to membership campground operators as defined in
  section six hundred fifty-one of this chapter.