2013 New York Consolidated Laws
GBS - General Business
Article 26 - (390 - 399-ZZZ) MISCELLANEOUS
396-Y - Sale of certain personal property; incentives; disclosure of value.

 
    §  396-y. Sale of certain personal property; incentives; disclosure of
  value. 1. Definitions. a. The  term  "consumer"  shall  mean  a  natural
  person residing in this state.
    b. The term "consumer goods" shall mean any item of personal property,
  merchandise or services, having a value of five hundred dollars or more,
  sold  or  offered  for  sale to a consumer, the intended use of which is
  personal, family  or  general  household,  not  intended  for  immediate
  resale.
    c.  The  term  "incentive"  shall  mean the free offering of any gift,
  bonus or other inducement to purchase such consumer  goods  which  gift,
  bonus  or  inducement  shall  be  in  the  nature of intangible personal
  property.
    2. Prohibition. No person, firm, corporation, association or agent  or
  employee  thereof shall provide an incentive in the sale or offering for
  sale of consumer goods, both such terms as  defined  herein,  without  a
  complete, detailed and accurate written disclosure of the actual present
  liquidated retail value of such incentive at the time or date of sale of
  the  subject  consumer  goods  and  whether  any  tax obligations may be
  incurred by the consumer as a result of owning the incentive.
    3. Enforcement. a. A consumer  who  has  suffered  a  loss  due  to  a
  violation  of this section by a merchant is entitled to recover from the
  merchant actual damages. In addition, the court may award  the  consumer
  reasonable attorneys fees and court costs.
    b.  A  violation  of  this section is a deceptive trade practice under
  section three hundred forty-nine of this chapter.
    c. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section an  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
  violations; 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  the  court  or  justice,  enjoining  and
  restraining  any  further  violations,  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 that a violation of this
  section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of  not  more
  than  five  hundred  dollars  for each violation. 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.
    d. Nothing in this section shall be construed  so  as  to  nullify  or
  impair  any right or rights which a consumer may have against a merchant
  at common law, by statute, or otherwise, nor to impair  the  ability  of
  the  attorney general to institute investigations and proceedings, where
  appropriate, as provided in article twenty-three-A of this chapter,  nor
  to  eliminate the requirements that may be imposed upon a merchant under
  such article.
    e. An action shall not be brought under this  section  more  than  six
  years  after  the occurrence of the act, method or practice which is the
  subject of the action or more than one year after the last payment in  a
  transaction  involving  the method, act or practice which is the subject
  of the action, whichever is later.
    f. Any  covenant,  promise,  agreement  or  understanding  in,  or  in
  connection with or collateral to a sale or offering for sale of consumer

  goods,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  section,  purporting  to
  acknowledge that a  gift,  bonus  or  other  inducement  received  by  a
  consumer  in  connection  with  a  sale or offering for sale of consumer
  goods was not an incentive as defined herein, or otherwise purporting to
  directly  or indirectly waive the provisions of this section, is against
  public policy and is void and unenforceable.