Additional civil penalties for consumer frauds committed against elders

§480-13.5 Additional civil penalties for consumer frauds committed against elders. (a) If a person commits a violation under section 480-2 which is directed toward, targets, or injures an elder, a court, in addition to any other civil penalty, may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.

(b) In determining the amount, if any, of civil penalty under subsection (a), the court shall consider the following:

(1) Whether the person’s conduct was in wilful disregard of the rights of the elder;

(2) Whether the person knew or should have known that the person’s conduct was directed toward or targeted an elder;

(3) Whether the elder was more vulnerable to the person’s conduct than other consumers because of age, poor health, infirmity, impaired understanding, restricted mobility, or disability;

(4) The extent of injury, loss, or damages suffered by the elder; and

(5) Any other factors the court deems appropriate.

(c) As used in this chapter, “elder” means a consumer who is sixty-two years of age or older. [L 1998, c 179, §1]

Cross References

Some other actions or penalties for violations committed against elders, see § §28-94, 412:3-114.5, 444-10.7, 454-4.5, 480-13, 485A-603.5, 485A-604.5, and 487-14.

Case Notes

Where complaints alleged that credit card providers violated this section and § §480-2 and 481A-3 and unjust enrichment, the claims were not preempted by the National Bank Act. Also, because the complaints unambiguously disclaimed class status, the actions could not be removed under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. 761 F.3d 1027 (2014).

Discussed: 907 F. Supp. 2d 1188 (2012).