2013 New York Consolidated Laws
GBS - General Business
Article 22-A - (349 - 350-F-1) CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES
349-E - Counterfeit and non-functional airbags.

 
    §  349-e.  Counterfeit  and non-functional airbags. 1. As used in this
  section:
    (a) "Airbag" shall mean  any  component  of  an  inflatable  restraint
  system, as such term is defined in section one hundred nineteen-b of the
  vehicle  and  traffic  law,  and that is designed for the specific make,
  model, and year of the motor vehicle to be installed and to  operate  in
  the  event  of a crash. Airbag components include but are not limited to
  the cover,  sensors,  controllers,  inflator,  wiring,  and  the  airbag
  itself.
    (b)  "Counterfeit  airbag"  shall  mean  an airbag that bears, without
  authorization, a mark identical with, or substantially similar  to,  the
  genuine mark of the manufacturer of such motor vehicle.
    (c)  "Non-functional  airbag" shall mean a replacement airbag that has
  been previously deployed or damaged, or that  has  an  electrical  fault
  that  is  detected  by  the  readiness  indicator light, as such term is
  defined in section one hundred nineteen-b of  the  vehicle  and  traffic
  law,  after  the  installation  procedure  is completed. "Non-functional
  airbag" shall also mean any object, including a counterfeit or  repaired
  airbag component installed to deceive the vehicle owner or operator into
  believing a functional airbag is installed.
    (d)  "Person"  shall  mean any person, partnership, firm, corporation,
  company, trust, association, or any agent or employee thereof.
    2. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly:
    (i) make, offer to distribute or distribute, offer to sell or  sell  a
  counterfeit or a non-functional airbag;
    (ii)  install  or  reinstall  a counterfeit airbag or a non-functional
  airbag in any motor vehicle, as that term  is  defined  in  section  one
  hundred twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law;
    (iii)  offer  to  distribute  or  distribute,  offer  to sell or sell,
  install or reinstall a counterfeit or non-functional airbag so that  the
  readiness  indicator  light,  as  such  term  is  defined in section one
  hundred nineteen-b of the vehicle and traffic law, falsely displays that
  the airbag is in proper working order; or
    (iv) represent to another  person  that  a  counterfeit  airbag  or  a
  non-functional  airbag installed or reinstalled in a motor vehicle is an
  airbag.
    (b) Any person who violates  any  provision  of  this  subdivision  is
  guilty  of a class A misdemeanor punishable as provided for in the penal
  law.
    3. Whenever there shall be  a  violation  of  this  section  involving
  twenty-five  or  more  counterfeit and/or non-functional airbags, or any
  second or subsequent violation  of  subdivision  two  of  this  section,
  application  may  be  made  by  the  attorney general in the name of the
  people  of  the  state  of  New  York  to  a  court  or  justice  having
  jurisdiction  by  a  special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon
  notice to the defendant of not  less  than  five  days,  to  enjoin  and
  restrain  the  continuance  of such violation; and if it shall appear to
  the satisfaction of the court or justice  that  the  defendant  has,  in
  fact,  violated  this section, an injunction may be issued by such court
  or justice, enjoining and restraining  any  further  violation,  without
  requiring  proof  that  any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged
  thereby. In connection with any such proposed application, the  attorney
  general  is  authorized  to  take  proof and make a determination of the
  relevant facts and to issue  subpoenas  in  accordance  with  the  civil
  practice  law  and  rules. Any person who violates this section and such
  violation involves twenty-five or more counterfeit and/or non-functional
  airbags, or a second or subsequent violation of subdivision two of  this
  section  shall  be  subject  to  a  civil  penalty  of not more than one

  thousand dollars for each violation. No person shall be deemed  to  have
  violated  the  provisions  of  this  section if such person, shows, by a
  preponderance of the evidence, that the violation  was  not  intentional
  and resulted from a bona fide error made notwithstanding the maintenance
  of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid such error.