Bill Text: HI HB2161 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Bill 2161 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Dog Purchaser Protection

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-15 - (H) The committee(s) on CPC/JUD recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB2161 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HB2161-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2161
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to dogs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

Dog purchaser protection act

§ -1 Definitions. When used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Seller" means a person who sells two or more litters of dogs during the preceding calendar year to the public and who owns or operates a kennel or pet shop. The term shall not include nonprofit animal welfare organizations that facilitate the adoption of dogs.

"Unfit for purchase" means any disease, deformity, injury, physical condition, illness, or any defect which is congenital or hereditary and which severely affects the health of the dog, which was manifest, capable of diagnosis, or likely to have been contracted on or before the sale and delivery of the dog to the purchaser.

"Veterinarian" means an individual licensed to practice veterinary medicine under chapter 471.

§ -2 Records; veterinarian health certificate. (a) A seller shall provide a purchaser of a dog with the health record of the dog at the time of sale that sets forth:

(1) The dog's breed(s) if known; provided that if the breed is unknown, the health record shall so indicate;

(2) If the dog is advertised or represented as registerable, the name and address of the pedigree registry organization where the dam and sire are registered;

(3) The dog's date of birth; provided that the seller may approximate the dog's date of birth if the dog is not advertised as or sold as purebred, registered, or registerable;

(4) The dog's sex;

(5) The dog's color and markings;

(6) A list of:

(A) All vaccinations, if known, administered to the dog; and

(B) The date and type of vaccinations and the name of the person who administered them, if known, up to the time of sale;

(7) A record of any known disease, illness, or condition with which the dog is or has been afflicted at the time of the sale;

(8) A record of any treatment by a veterinarian or medication that the dog has received while in the seller's possession to treat any disease, illness, or condition;

(9) The date, dosage, and type of any parasitical medication, if known, that was administered to the dog; and

(10) The seller's name, address, signature, and statement affirming that all of the information provided in this subsection is true to the best of the seller's knowledge and belief.

(b) In addition to the health record, the seller shall provide to the purchaser of a dog a health certificate issued by a veterinarian within twenty-one business days prior to the time

of the sale of the dog or a guarantee of good health issued and signed by the seller. The health certificate issued by the veterinarian shall:

(1) Certify that the dog sold by the seller is apparently free of any contagious or infectious illness;

(2) Certify that the dog sold by the seller is apparently free from any defect which is congenital or hereditary and diagnosable with reasonable accuracy;

(3) Certify that the dog sold by the seller does not appear to be clinically ill from parasitic infestation at the time of the physical examination; and

(4) Include the veterinarian's name, address, and signature and the date of the examination.

(1) Warrant that the dog being sold is apparently free of and does not exhibit any signs of any contagious or infections disease;

(2) Warrant that the dog being sold is apparently free from and does not exhibit any signs of a parasitic infection on the date of the sale;

(3) Include a notice in ten-point, capitalized type, in substantially the following form:

"THIS GUARANTEE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT A VETERINARIAN HAS EXAMINED THIS DOG. THE PURCHASER IS ENCOURAGED TO HAVE A VETERINARIAN EXAMINE THIS DOG AS SOON AFTER PURCHASE AS IS FEASIBLE."; and

(4) Be signed by the seller and the purchaser on the date of the sale.

The seller shall also orally state the facts in paragraphs (1) to (4) to the purchaser.

§ -3 Remedies. (a) If within ten business days after the date of sale, a veterinarian determines, through physical examination, diagnostic tests, or necropsy, that the dog purchased from the seller is unfit for purchase or dies as a result from a condition that rendered it unfit for purchase, the purchaser may exercise one of the following options:

(1) Return the dog to the seller for a complete refund of the purchase price, excluding the general excise tax;

(2) Return the dog to the seller for a replacement dog of equal value of the purchaser's choice; provided that a replacement dog is available; or

(3) Retain the dog and receive reimbursement from the seller for reasonable veterinary fees incurred in curing or attempting to cure the affected dog, subject to the limitation that the seller's liability for reimbursement shall not exceed the purchase price of the dog, excluding the general excise tax; provided that this remedy shall apply only if the purchaser's veterinarian determines that the dog's illness can be treated and corrected by appropriate and customary procedures. The value of these services is considered reasonable if it is comparable to the value of similar services rendered by other veterinarians in reasonable proximity to the treating veterinarian. Reimbursement shall not include the costs of the initial veterinary examination fee and diagnostic or treatment fees not directly related to the veterinarian's certification that the dog is unfit for purchase pursuant to this section. If the purchaser's veterinarian determines that the dog's illness is incurable, the purchaser shall be limited to the remedies set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2).

(b) For the purposes of this section, veterinary findings of intestinal and external parasites shall not be grounds for declaring the dog unfit for purchase, unless the dog is clinically ill or dies due to that condition. A dog shall not be found unfit for purchase because of injury sustained or illness contracted after the time of the sale. Remedies available under subsection (a) shall also apply to replacement dogs.

(c) The purchaser shall obtain a veterinarian's certification of illness, congenital or hereditary defects, or death to receive a refund or replacement or to receive reimbursement for veterinary costs if the purchaser retains the dog and treats it for illness or congenital or hereditary defect as provided in this section. The veterinarian's certification shall be supplied at the purchaser's expense and shall state:

(1) The purchaser's name and address;

(2) The date of the examination;

(3) The dog's breed and age, if known;

(4) That the veterinarian examined the dog;

(5) That the dog has or had an illness or a defect as described in subsection (b) which renders it unfit for purchase or resulted in its death;

(6) The precise findings of the examination, diagnostic tests, or necropsy;

(7) The treatment recommended, if any, and an estimate or the actual cost of the treatment should the purchaser choose to retain the dog and seek reimbursement for veterinary fees to cure or attempt to cure the dog; and

(8) The veterinarian's name, address, telephone number, and signature.

(d) The purchaser shall notify the seller of the examining veterinarian's name, address, and telephone number within two business days of a veterinary examination that certifies illness, defect, or death. The purchaser shall forfeit all rights under this section if the purchaser fails to notify the seller or carry out the recommended treatment prescribed by the examining veterinarian who made the initial diagnosis under section -3(a).

(e) The seller shall make the refund or reimbursement required by subsection (a) not later than fourteen days following the receipt of the veterinarian's certification that the dog is unfit for purchase or has died from a condition defined as unfit for purchase in this chapter. The purchaser shall present the veterinarian's certification to the seller within five business days following the purchaser's receipt of the veterinarian's certification.

§ -4 Disclosure of illness or defect in dog. (a) No seller may sell a dog with an illness or a defect without first providing a written health certificate issued by a veterinarian that discloses the illness or defect at the time of sale.

(b) Both the seller and the purchaser shall sign the written health certificate.

(c) The remedies available under section -3(a) shall not be available if the seller has provided a written health certificate at the time of the sale that discloses the health problem for which the purchaser later seeks to return the dog.

(d) If the seller has provided a guarantee of good health, the remedies provided under section -3(a) shall be available regardless of whether the seller disclosed the health problem at the time of the sale.

§ -5 Seller's contest of purchaser's demand. (a) Upon receipt of the purchaser's notification that the dog is unfit for purchase, the seller may, within two business days, request the purchaser to produce the dog for examination by a veterinarian designated by the seller. The seller is responsible for the veterinarian's fee, including any diagnostic tests or necropsy.

(b) If the dog is hospitalized and incapable of being transported, the purchaser's attending veterinarian shall provide all relevant information regarding the case as requested by the seller's veterinarian.

(c) Unless the dog is hospitalized, the purchaser's failure to produce the dog within two business days from the seller's request for examination will nullify the seller's obligation to replace, refund, or reimburse.

(d) Upon examination, if the purchaser and the seller are unable to reach an agreement that constitutes one of the options set forth in this chapter within fourteen business days following receipt of the dog for examination, either party may initiate an action in a court of competent jurisdiction.

§ -6 Registered or registerable dogs. (a) Any seller who advertises or otherwise represents that a dog is registered or registerable shall provide the purchaser of the dog with the following information at the time of sale:

(1) The breeder's name and address;

(2) The name and registration number of the dam and sire of the purchased dog's litter; and

(3) The name and address of the pedigree-registry organization where the dam and sire are registered.

(b) The seller shall provide all documentation necessary to effect the registration of the dog to the purchaser within one hundred twenty calendar days of the date of sale.

(c) If at the time of the sale, the purchaser agreed in writing to provide the seller with a signed veterinarian's certificate certifying that the dog has been spayed or neutered, the seller may withhold the dog's registration application until the purchaser supplies this certificate. The seller shall provide the registration application within ten days of receiving the veterinarian's certificate if the certificate is supplied after the one-hundred-twenty-day period.

(d) The seller may extend the one-hundred-twenty-day period set forth in subsection (b) if the dog is being imported from outside the United States by notifying the purchaser in writing of the reason for the extension and providing a reasonable estimate of the arrival date of the registration documents.

(e) If the seller fails to provide this documentation within one hundred twenty days of the date of sale or fails to notify the purchaser of an extension, the purchaser may:

(1) Return the dog and receive a full refund of the purchase price, excluding the general excise tax; or

(2) Retain the dog and receive a refund of fifty per cent of the purchase price, excluding the general excise tax, from the seller.

§ -7 Notice of provisions. (a) A summary of the provisions of this chapter shall be conspicuously posted in the place of business of persons subject to this section. The department of commerce and consumer affairs shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 91, specifying the contents of the summary that must be posted. In addition, the posted notice shall state that the health record of any dog for sale is available upon request.

(b) At the time of the sale, the seller shall provide the purchaser with a written notice which shall be in ten-point, capitalized type, in substantially the following form:

"THIS DISCLOSURE OF RIGHTS IS A SUMMARY OF HAWAII LAW. THE ACTUAL PROVISIONS OF THE LAW ARE IN SECTION - , HAWAII REVISED STATUTES."

§ -8 Penalties. (a) In addition to any other penalty, the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall levy a civil penalty of up to $ against any seller who violates any provision of this chapter.

(b) Penalties collected under this section shall be deposited in the general fund of the State."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2013.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Dog Purchaser Protection

Description:

Requires dog sellers to provide certain information to purchasers at the time of purchase. Provides for remedies in case the dog purchased is unfit for purchase. Establishes duties for both sellers and purchasers.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.