Int. No. 1168
By Council Members Ossé, Hudson, Hanif, Cabán, Joseph, Epstein, Gutiérrez, Marte, Hankerson, De La Rosa, J. Sanchez, Nurse and Abreu
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the definitions and applicability of deceptive and unconscionable trade practices
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Section 20-701 of the administrative code of the city of New York, subdivision a of such section as amended by local law number 98 for the year 2021, is amended to read as follows:
§ 20-701 Definitions. [a.] As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
Deceptive trade practice. [Any] The term “deceptive trade practice” means any false, falsely disparaging, or misleading oral, written, digital, or electronic statement, visual description or other representation or omission of any kind made [in connection with] in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce, including but not limited to the sale, lease, rental, or loan or in connection with the offering for sale, lease, rental, or loan of, or in the furnishing of, any consumer goods or services, or in the extension of consumer credit or in the collection of consumer debts, which has the capacity, tendency, or effect of directly or indirectly deceiving or misleading consumers, and shall include any such statement, visual description or other representation made in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce, whether or not such statement, visual description or other representation explicitly names a consumer good or service. Deceptive trade practices include but are not limited to: (1) representations that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, certification, accessories, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities that they do not have; the supplier has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection that he or she does not have; goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, altered, damaged, refurbished, reconditioned, reclaimed, or secondhand; or, goods or services are of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model, if they are of another; (2) the use, in any representation, of exaggeration, innuendo, or ambiguity as to a material fact, or the failure to state a material fact, if such use of, or failure to state, a material fact deceives or tends to deceive; (3) disparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representations or omissions of material facts; (4) offering goods or services with intent not to sell them as offered, including by failing to disclose clearly and conspicuously all material exclusions, reservations, limitations, modifications, or conditions on such offer; (5) offering goods or services with intent not to supply reasonable expectable public demand, unless the offer discloses a limitation of quantity; (6) making false or misleading representations of fact, or omitting material facts, concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions, or price in comparison to prices of competitors or one's own price at a past or future time; (7) stating that a consumer transaction involves consumer rights, remedies, or obligations that it does not involve; (8) falsely stating that services, replacements or repairs are or are not needed; (9) falsely stating the reasons for offering or supplying goods or services at scale discount prices; [and] (10) failing to provide a complete and accurate translation of all documents, other than receipts, related to a consumer transaction conducted in a designated citywide language other than English, as defined in section 23-1101, provided that such transaction was predominantly negotiated in such language, and provided further that, for purposes of this subdivision, the term “predominantly negotiated” means the negotiation of material terms of a consumer transaction, including price, quantity, the description of goods or services, exclusions, and conditions; and the term “receipt” means a document that provides only the amount paid by the consumer for each item, the total amount paid by such consumer, the date of the purchase, and the legal name and address of the seller, and (11) any act or practice that would constitute a deceptive act or practice in violation of section 349 of the general business law or false advertising in violation of section 350 of the general business law.
[b.] Unconscionable trade practice. [Any] The term “unconscionable trade practice” means any act or practice [in connection with] in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce, including but not limited to the sale, lease, rental, or loan or in connection with the offering for sale, lease, rental, or loan of any consumer goods or services, or in the extension of consumer credit, or in the collection of consumer debts which unfairly takes advantage of the lack of knowledge, ability, experience, or capacity of a consumer; or results in a gross disparity between the value received by a consumer and the price paid, to the consumer’s detriment, and shall include any such act or practice made in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce, whether or not such act or practice explicitly names a consumer good or service [; provided that no act or practice shall be deemed unconscionable under this subchapter unless declared unconscionable and described with reasonable particularity in a local law, or in a rule or regulation promulgated by the commissioner. In promulgating such rules and regulations the commissioner shall consider among other factors:]. In determining whether an act or practice is unconscionable, the following factors shall be considered: (1) knowledge by merchants engaging in the act or practice of the inability of consumers to receive properly anticipated benefits from the goods or services involved; (2) gross disparity between the price of goods or services and their value measured by the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtained by other consumers; (3) the fact that the acts or practices may enable merchants to take advantage of the inability of consumers reasonably to protect their interests by reason of physical or mental infirmities, illiteracy or inability to understand the language of the agreement, ignorance or lack of education, or similar factors; (4) the degree to which terms of the transaction require consumers to waive legal rights; (5) the degree to which terms of the transaction require consumers to jeopardize money or property beyond the money or property immediately at issue in the transaction; and (6) definitions of unconscionability in statutes, regulations, rulings, and decisions of legislative[,] or judicial bodies in this state or elsewhere.
[c.] Consumer goods, services, credit, and debts. As used in section 20-700 of this subchapter and subdivisions a and b of this section, goods, services, credit and debts which are primarily for personal, household or family purposes, including the sale of event tickets.
[d.] Consumer. [A] The term “consumer” means a purchaser or lessee or prospective purchaser or lessee of [the] consumer goods or services or consumer credit, including a co-obligor or surety.
[e.] Merchant. [A] The term “merchant” means a seller, lessor, or creditor or any other person who makes available either directly or indirectly[,] goods, services, or credit[,] to consumers. [“Merchant” shall include] Such term includes manufacturers, wholesalers, and others who are responsible for any act or practice prohibited by this subchapter.
§ 2. Section 20-702 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
§ 20-702 Regulations. The commissioner may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subchapter, including regulations defining specific deceptive or unconscionable trade practices. Such rules and regulations may supplement but shall not be inconsistent with the rules, regulations and decisions of the federal trade commission and the federal courts in interpreting the provisions of section five (a) (1), the federal trade commission act 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1), or the decisions of the courts interpreting section 349 or section [three hundred fifty] 350 of the general business law and section 2-302 of the uniform commercial code.
§ 3. Subdivisions b, c, and e of section 20-703 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 98 for the year 2001, are amended to read as follows:
b. Each individual statement, description or other representation or omission that constitutes a deceptive or unconscionable trade practice shall give rise to a distinct and independent violation.
c. Each day on which an individual statement, description or other representation or omission that constitutes a deceptive or unconscionable trade practice is distributed, broadcast, posted, published, or otherwise exposed to the public shall give rise to a single separate violation; provided, however, that if the department produces evidence sufficient to show that such statement, description or other representation or omission was distributed, broadcast, posted, published, or otherwise exposed to the public on more than [one] 1 occasion in a single day, each such exposure shall constitute a separate violation, or, alternatively, if the department produces sufficient evidence to show the number of consumers reached by such statement, description or other representation or omission, and that the person making such statement, description or other representation or omission knew, or should have known, that such statement, description or other representation or omission was a deceptive or unconscionable trade practice, a penalty for such violation shall be based instead on each individual consumer reached by such statement, description or other representation or omission.
e. Whenever any person has engaged in any act or practice which constitutes a violation of any provision of this subchapter or of any rule promulgated thereunder, regardless of whether or not the act or practice is consumer-oriented, the city may make application to the supreme court by action or proceeding or special proceeding or the commissioner may commence a proceeding by service of a notice of violation returnable to any tribunal established within the office of administrative trials and hearings or within any agency of the city designated to conduct such proceedings.
§ 4. This local law takes effect immediately.
CMB/SS
LS #21952/24658
11/6/2026 3:36 PM