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New York Deceptive Trade Practices Laws

Laws relating to deceptive acts and practices in New York are dealt under New York General Business Law, Article 22-A (Consumer Protection from Deceptive Acts and Practices) Section 349 et seq. Under Section 350 of Article 22-A, it is unlawful for any person to make false advertising in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in New York.  An Attorney General can bring an action against any person, firm, corporation or agent who engages in any act violative of any of the provisions in this Article and is entitled to recover damages as set forth in Section 350-d.  Pursuant to Section 350-e, any person can bring an action to recover his/her actual damages from any unlawful act or practices enumerated in the provisions of this Article.  According to Section 350-e, any person who has been injured by reason of any violation of this Article may bring an action to recover actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, including reasonable attorney fees.  The Court in its discretion may also increase the award of damages to an amount not exceeding three times the actual damages, up to $10,000, if the Court finds that the defendant willfully and knowingly violated the provision.

Any person, firm, partnership, or corporation who misrepresents the mileage of a motor vehicle to a transferee by disconnecting, changing, or causing to be disconnected so as to indicate a lesser mileage than such motor vehicle has actually traveled, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor under Section 392-e of Article 26.

NY CLS Gen Bus § 350

False advertising unlawful
False advertising in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in this state is hereby declared unlawful.

NY CLS Gen Bus § 350-d

Civil penalty
Any person, firm, corporation or association or agent or employee thereof who engages in any of the acts or practices stated in this article to be unlawful shall be liable to a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each violation, which shall accrue to the state of New York and may be recovered in a civil action brought by the attorney general. In any such action it shall be a complete defense that the advertisement is subject to and complies with the rules and regulations of, and the statutes administered by the Federal Trade Commission or any official department, division, commission or agency of the state of New York.

NY CLS Gen Bus § 350-e

Construction
1. This article neither enlarges nor diminishes the rights of parties in private litigation except as provided in this section.
2. This article does not repeal the provisions of subdivision twelve of section sixty-three of the executive law.
3. Any person who has been injured by reason of any violation of section three hundred fifty or three hundred fifty-a of this article may bring an action in his or her own name to enjoin such unlawful act or practice, an action to recover his or her actual damages or five hundred dollars, whichever is greater, or both such actions. The court may, in its discretion, increase the award of damages to an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages, up to ten thousand dollars, if the court finds that the defendant willfully or knowingly violated this section. The court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

NY CLS Gen Bus § 392-e

Using false statements or altering mileage registering devices
1. Upon the transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle, the seller shall enter on any instrument executed by him, including any form prescribed by the commissioner of motor vehicles, and on any other bill of sale, certificate, or evidence of title or condition given by him at the time of transfer or sale, the mileage said motor vehicle purports to have been operated as the same appears upon the odometer in such motor vehicle. In the event that such odometer mileage is known to the seller to be less than such motor vehicle has actually travelled, the seller shall enter upon any said transfer instrument or statement “True mileage unknown.” In the event that it is known to the seller that the mileage indicated on such odometer is beyond its designed mechanical limits, he shall state the total cumulative mileage on the aforesaid prescribed transfer instruments. Any person, firm, partnership, or corporation who gives a false statement to a transferee under the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, provided, however, that no person, firm, partnership, or corporation shall be convicted under the section where a vehicle has been resold in reliance on the required statement of the prior owner and pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one, two, three and four of section three hundred ninety-two-e.
2. A person, firm, partnership, or corporation who shall misrepresent the mileage of a motor vehicle to a transferee by the execution and delivery of the written statement required in the preceding paragraph hereof and which in fact is false, or who shall misrepresent such mileage to a transferee by disconnection, changing, or causing to be disconnected or changed any mileage registering device on a motor vehicle so as to thereby indicate a lesser mileage that such motor vehicle has actually travelled, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
2-a. (a) No person, firm, partnership, or corporation shall, prior to the transfer of ownership of a motor vehicle, misrepresent by any statement, express or implied and which in fact is false, the mileage said motor vehicle purports to have been operated as the same appears on the odometer in such motor vehicle. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to supercede the provisions of any other subdivision of this section.
(b) A violation of this subdivision shall be subject to a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation; provided, however, that a knowing or willful violation of this subdivision shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars for each such violation. No person, firm, partnership, or corporation shall be deemed to have violated this subdivision where the vehicle is sold, offered for sale, or advertised for sale in reliance on the required statement of the prior owner and pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions one, two, three and four of this section.
(c) Unless the misrepresentation was made with an intent to defraud, the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall not apply to a statement made regarding a vehicle the most current ownership document for which is a salvage certificate or like document issued by a state or jurisdiction or regarding a vehicle sold by a salvage pool registered under section four hundred fifteen-a of the vehicle and traffic law.
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Inside New York Deceptive Trade Practices Laws