Bill Text: NY A06544 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to prohibiting consumer contract provisions waiving the consumer's right to make statements concerning goods or services.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A06544 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A06544-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6544
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     March 11, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Consumer Affairs and Protection
        AN ACT to amend the general business law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
          consumer  contract  provisions  waiving  the  consumer's right to make
          statements concerning goods or services
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  398-f to read as follows:
     3    §  398-f.  Provisions  waiving the consumer's right to make statements
     4  concerning goods or services in consumer contracts prohibited. 1. (a)  A
     5  contract or proposed contract for the sale or lease of consumer goods or
     6  services  shall  not include a provision waiving the consumer's right to
     7  make any statement regarding the seller or lessor or  its  employees  or
     8  agents, or concerning the goods or services.
     9    (b) It shall be unlawful to threaten or to seek to enforce a provision
    10  made  unlawful  under  this section, or to otherwise penalize a consumer
    11  for making any statement protected under this section.
    12    2. Any waiver of the provisions of this section is contrary to  public
    13  policy, and is void and unenforceable.
    14    3.  Any  person  who violates this section shall be subject to a civil
    15  penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars  for  the  first
    16  violation,  and five thousand dollars for the second and for each subse-
    17  quent violation, to be assessed and collected in a civil action  brought
    18  by the consumer, by the attorney general, or by the district attorney or
    19  city  attorney  of  the  county or city in which the violation occurred.
    20  When collected, the civil penalty shall be payable, as  appropriate,  to
    21  the  consumer  or  to  the general fund of whichever governmental entity
    22  brought the action to assess the civil penalty.
    23    4. In addition, for a willful, intentional, or reckless  violation  of
    24  this section, a consumer, the attorney general, or the district attorney
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07895-01-9

        A. 6544                             2
     1  or  city  attorney of the county or city in which the violation occurred
     2  may recover a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars.
     3    5.  The  penalty  provided by this section is not an exclusive remedy,
     4  and does not affect any other relief or remedy  provided  by  law.  This
     5  section shall not be construed to prohibit or limit a person or business
     6  that hosts online consumer reviews or comments from removing a statement
     7  that is otherwise lawful to remove.
     8    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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