New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Committee Votes 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 
 
•  LFIN 
 
•  Chamber Video/Transcript 

S08416 Summary:

S08416 Actions:

S08416 Floor Votes:

S08416 Memo:

Memo not available

S08416 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8416
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      June 9, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE  -- (at request of the Attorney General) --
          read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
          the Committee on Rules
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the general business law, in relation to enacting the
          "fostering affordability and integrity through reasonable (FAIR) busi-
          ness practices act"

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "fostering
     2  affordability and integrity through reasonable (FAIR) business practices
     3  act".
     4    § 2. Article 22-A of the general business law is amended by  adding  a
     5  new section 348 to read as follows:
     6    §  348.  Purpose  and intent of article. The legislature declares that
     7  the state has a responsibility  to  protect  New  Yorkers  from  unfair,
     8  deceptive  and  abusive  business  acts and practices.   The legislature
     9  recognizes the limitations of the current  state  law,  which  prohibits
    10  only  the  use  of deceptive business acts and practices, and has proven
    11  insufficient to satisfy the  state's  responsibilities  to  protect  New
    12  Yorkers  and  the  New  York economy from unfair, deceptive, and abusive
    13  business practices.  For too long, New Yorkers, especially  New  Yorkers
    14  with  limited income, communities of color, seniors, children, veterans,
    15  and immigrant populations, have been  left  vulnerable  to  unscrupulous
    16  business  practices.   It is time for New York to join all but a handful
    17  of New York's fellow jurisdictions by adopting a  comprehensive  unfair,
    18  deceptive,  and  abusive  business acts and practices statute that gives
    19  government and private parties the tools to  address  these  harms.  The
    20  state  must achieve the goal of deterring and remedying a broad range of
    21  unfair, deceptive, and abusive  business  practices,  and  leveling  the
    22  playing  field  for  the  state's many honest businesses and non-profits
    23  that treat their customers fairly.    It  must  also  anticipate  future
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03277-24-5
        S. 8416                             2
 
     1  unfair,  deceptive,  and  abusive  acts, including from new and emerging
     2  technologies.  To that end, this article defines unfair and abusive acts
     3  and practices expansively to reach conduct that is unfair or abusive but
     4  arguably not deceptive.
     5    The   state  must  also  ensure  the  most  meaningful  and  effective
     6  protection to New Yorkers against unfair, deceptive, and  abusive  busi-
     7  ness  practices.   This article therefore eliminates atextual exceptions
     8  imposed by courts over the last  five  decades  that  have  limited  the
     9  attorney  general's  power  to  enforce  the  statute  to  acts that are
    10  "consumer-oriented" or that have an impact on the public at large.   The
    11  attorney  general has a special responsibility to the public to create a
    12  fair marketplace for all.  That  responsibility  extends  to  protecting
    13  businesses  and  non-profits as well as individuals.  There is no reason
    14  to believe that a small business or non-profit is  any  better  able  to
    15  defend itself from unfair, abusive, and deceptive conduct than a consum-
    16  er, or that small entities need the protections of this article any less
    17  than individuals do. The market and wider society is harmed by the nega-
    18  tive consequences that flow from unfair, deceptive, and abusive business
    19  practices  even  if those acts and practices have not been understood as
    20  "consumer-oriented".
    21    § 3. The article heading of article 22-A of the general business  law,
    22  as  amended  by  chapter  43  of the laws of 1970, is amended to read as
    23  follows:
    24                          [CONSUMER] PROTECTION FROM
    25                   UNFAIR, DECEPTIVE, OR ABUSIVE ACTS AND
    26                                  PRACTICES
    27    § 4. Section 349 of the general business law, as added by  chapter  43
    28  of  the  laws  of 1970, subdivision (h) as amended by chapter 157 of the
    29  laws of 1984 and subdivision (j) as added by section 6  of  part  HH  of
    30  chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    31    §  349.  [Deceptive]  Unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices
    32  unlawful. (a) [Deceptive] Unfair, deceptive, or abusive  acts  or  prac-
    33  tices  in  the  conduct  of  any  business,  trade or commerce or in the
    34  furnishing of any service in this state are  hereby  declared  unlawful.
    35  For the purposes of this section:
    36    (1)  An act or practice is unfair when it causes or is likely to cause
    37  substantial  injury  which  is  not  reasonably  avoidable  and  is  not
    38  outweighed  by  countervailing  benefits to consumers or to competition.
    39  The term "substantial injury" as used in this subdivision shall have the
    40  same meaning as the term  "substantial  injury"  in  the  federal  trade
    41  commission act, 15 U.S.C. Section 41 et seq., provided that the substan-
    42  tial  injury  of  a person or persons other than consumers shall also be
    43  deemed a "substantial injury" for purposes of this section.
    44    (2) An act or practice is abusive when:
    45    (i) it materially interferes with the ability of a  person  to  under-
    46  stand a term or condition of a product or service; or
    47    (ii) it takes unreasonable advantage of:
    48    (A)  a  lack  of understanding on the part of a person of the material
    49  risks, costs, or conditions of a product or service;
    50    (B) the inability of a person to protect such  person's  interests  in
    51  selecting or using a product or service; or
    52    (C)  the  reasonable  reliance by a person on a person engaging in the
    53  act or practice to act in the relying person's interests.
    54    (b) (1) Whenever the attorney  general  shall  believe  from  evidence
    55  satisfactory  to  [him]  the attorney general that any person, including
    56  but not limited to an individual, firm, corporation,  company,  partner-
        S. 8416                             3
 
     1  ship  or association, or agent or employee thereof, has engaged in or is
     2  about to engage in any of the acts or practices stated to  be  [unlawful
     3  he]  unfair,  deceptive,  or  abusive, the attorney general may bring an
     4  action  or  proceeding  in  the  name and on behalf of the people of the
     5  state of New York to enjoin such  unlawful  acts  or  practices  and  to
     6  obtain  restitution of any moneys or property obtained directly or indi-
     7  rectly by any such  unlawful  acts  or  practices.  In  such  action  or
     8  proceeding,  preliminary relief may be granted under article sixty-three
     9  of the civil practice law and rules.
    10    (2) The attorney general  may  bring  such  an  action  or  proceeding
    11  against  any  person  conducting  any  business,  trade  or  commerce or
    12  furnishing a service in this  state, whether or not the person is  with-
    13  out  the  state.   The attorney general may also bring such an action or
    14  proceeding against any person within the state conducting any  business,
    15  trade, or commerce or furnishing a service, whether or not the business,
    16  trade, commerce, or service is conducted or furnished without the state.
    17    (3)  An act or practice made unlawful by this section is actionable by
    18  the attorney general regardless of whether or not that act  or  practice
    19  is consumer-oriented.
    20    (c)  Before  [any  violation of this section is sought to be enjoined]
    21  commencing an action or proceeding pursuant to this section, the  attor-
    22  ney  general  shall  be  required  to  give the person against whom such
    23  action or proceeding is contemplated notice by  certified  mail  and  an
    24  opportunity  to  show in writing within five business days after receipt
    25  of notice why [proceedings] an action or proceeding should not be insti-
    26  tuted against [him] such person, unless the attorney general shall find,
    27  in any case in which [he] the attorney general seeks preliminary relief,
    28  that to give such notice and opportunity is not in the public interest.
    29    (d) In any [such]  action  or  proceeding  brought  pursuant  to  this
    30  section  it  shall be a complete defense that the act or practice is, or
    31  if in interstate commerce would be, subject to  and  complies  with  the
    32  rules  and regulations of, and the statutes administered by, the federal
    33  trade commission or any official  department,  division,  commission  or
    34  agency  of  the United States as such rules, regulations or statutes are
    35  interpreted by the federal trade commission or  such  department,  divi-
    36  sion, commission or agency or the federal courts.
    37    (e)  Nothing  in  this  section shall apply to any television or radio
    38  broadcasting station or to any publisher  or  printer  of  a  newspaper,
    39  magazine   or   other  form  of  printed  advertising,  who  broadcasts,
    40  publishes, or prints the advertisement.
    41    (f) In connection with any proposed action or  proceeding  under  this
    42  section,  the  attorney  general  is authorized to take proof and make a
    43  determination of the relevant facts, and to issue subpoenas  in  accord-
    44  ance with the civil practice law and rules.
    45    (g)  This section shall apply to all [deceptive] unfair, deceptive, or
    46  abusive acts or practices [declared to  be  unlawful],  whether  or  not
    47  subject  to  any other law of this state, and shall not supersede, amend
    48  or repeal any other law of this state under which the  attorney  general
    49  or  any  other  party  is  authorized  to take any action or conduct any
    50  inquiry.
    51    (h) In addition to the right of action granted to the attorney general
    52  pursuant to this section, any person who has been injured by  reason  of
    53  any  [violation  of]  deceptive  act  or  practice made unlawful by this
    54  section may bring an action in [his] such person's own  name  to  enjoin
    55  such  [unlawful]  deceptive  act or practice, an action to recover [his]
    56  such person's actual damages or fifty dollars, whichever is greater,  or
        S. 8416                             4
 
     1  both such actions.  The court may, in its discretion, increase the award
     2  of  damages to an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages up
     3  to one thousand dollars, if the court finds the defendant  willfully  or
     4  knowingly  violated  this section. The court may award reasonable attor-
     5  ney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
     6    [(j)] (i) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, all  monies  recov-
     7  ered  or obtained under this article by a state agency or state official
     8  or employee acting in their official capacity shall be subject to subdi-
     9  vision eleven of section four of the state finance law.
    10    § 5. Severability. If any clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  subdivision,
    11  section  or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent
    12  jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,  impair,  or
    13  invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation
    14  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof
    15  directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
    16  been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
    17  that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid  provisions
    18  had not been included herein.
    19    §  6.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    20  have become a law.