Frenkel Lambert Weisman & Gordon, LLP advise of new legislation awaiting delivery to the Governor of New York for signature.

As the federal government has rolled back protections for consumers and small businesses, this Act
seeks to fill the void left behind. The “Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business
Practices Act (“FAIR Business Practices Act”) seeks to strengthen New York’s consumer protection law,
to wit: General Business Law §349. The legislation proposes an expansion of GBL §349 to include not
only deceptive acts but those that are “unfair” and “abusive”. The Act also expands protection not only
to individual consumers but to businesses and nonprofits, reasoning that these entities are no better at
defending themselves from unfair, abusive and deceptive conduct than an individual consumer.

As such GBL §349 was amended to add definitions of both “unfair” acts or practices as well as “abusive”
acts or practices. Enforcement of unfair or abusive acts is limited strictly to the Attorney General if the
AG believes from satisfactory evidence, that any person, firm, corporation, company, partnership or
association or any agent or employee thereof, has engaged or is about to engage in any unfair,
deceptive or abusive acts or practices. Such action may be brought against any “person conducting any
business, trade or commerce or furnishing a service in New York State…” The Act seeks to eliminate the
limitation imposed by courts upon the AG’s power to enforce the statute to acts that are “consumer oriented” or that have an impact on the public at large. As such, private transactions by businesses
engaged in deceptive, unfair or abusive acts are susceptible to enforcement by the Attorney General.

Any person injured by reason of a deceptive act or practice may still bring a private right of action to
enjoin such practice or recover damages as has always been the law.

Some examples of the protections this legislation is designed to address include, but are not limited to,
deed theft, junk fees, data breaches, mortgage servicers who deceptively steer people into higher cost
loans and companies who take advantage of consumers with limited English proficiency and/or obscure
pricing information and fees.

View the legislation here.