Bill Text: NY S02747 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires mandatory arbitration clauses in certain consumer contracts to be printed in large font type.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S02747 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S02747-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2747

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 25, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and  when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on Consumer
          Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general  business  law,  in  relation  to  requiring
          mandatory  arbitration  clauses  in  certain  consumer contracts to be
          printed in large font type

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Section  399-c  of  the general business law, as added by
     2  chapter 946 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 399-c. Mandatory arbitration clauses in certain  consumer  contracts
     4  [prohibited]. 1.  Definitions.
     5    a.  The  term  "consumer" shall mean a natural person residing in this
     6  state.
     7    b. The term "consumer goods" shall mean goods, wares, paid merchandise
     8  or services purchased or paid for by a consumer,  the  intended  use  or
     9  benefit  of  which  is  intended  for  the personal, family or household
    10  purposes of such consumer.
    11    c. The term "mandatory  arbitration  clause"  shall  mean  a  term  or
    12  provision  contained  in  a written contract for the sale or purchase of
    13  consumer goods which requires the parties to such contract to submit any
    14  controversy thereafter arising under such contract to arbitration  prior
    15  to  the  commencement  of  any legal action to enforce the provisions of
    16  such contract and which also further provides  language  to  the  effect
    17  that  the  decision  of  the  arbitrator  or panel of arbitrators in its
    18  application to the consumer party shall be  final  and  not  subject  to
    19  court review.
    20    d.  The  term  "arbitration"  shall  mean the use of a decision making
    21  forum conducted by an arbitrator or  panel  of  arbitrators  within  the
    22  meaning  and  subject  to  the provisions of article seventy-five of the
    23  civil practice law and rules.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05263-01-1
        S. 2747                             2

     1    e. The term "large print format" shall mean a  printed  font  size  of
     2  sixteen points or larger.
     3    2.  a.  Prohibition.  No  written contract for the sale or purchase of
     4  consumer goods, entered into on or after  the  effective  date  of  this
     5  section, to which a consumer is a party, shall contain a mandatory arbi-
     6  tration clause.  Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit
     7  a non-consumer party from incorporating a provision within such contract
     8  that  such non-consumer party agrees that the decision of the arbitrator
     9  or panel of arbitrators shall be final in its application to  such  non-
    10  consumer party and not subject to court review.
    11    b.  Mandatory  arbitration  clause  null and void. The provisions of a
    12  mandatory arbitration clause shall be null and void.  The  inclusion  of
    13  such  clause  in a written contract for the sale or purchase of consumer
    14  goods shall  not  serve  to  impair  the  enforceability  of  any  other
    15  provision of such contract.
    16    3.  Large print arbitration clauses in contracts. Each and every busi-
    17  ness shall, in each  initial  contract  for  goods  or  services,  which
    18  contains  an  arbitration clause provide the consumer with a copy of the
    19  contract in which the arbitration clause is  displayed  in  large  print
    20  format.
    21    4.  A violation by any person or business of subdivision three of this
    22  section, if such violation constitutes the first such  offense  by  such
    23  person, is punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty
    24  dollars.  A  second  offense  and  any  offense  committed thereafter is
    25  punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars.
    26    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    27  it shall have become a law.