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H0517aa,aaS..........................by JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
CONSUMER PROTECTION - Amends existing law relating to consumer protection
to provide an enhanced penalty for certain conduct perpetrated against an
elderly person or a disabled person; to provide priority for restitution;
and to define terms.
02/12 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13 Rpt prt - to Jud
02/20 Rpt out - to Gen Ord
02/26 Rpt out amen - to engros
02/27 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
02/28 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
02/29 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 63-4-3
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Block, Bock,
Boe, Bolz, Bowers, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez, Chew,
Clark, Collins, Crane, Durst, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart, Henbest,
Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador, Lake, LeFavour,
Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, McGeachin, Moyle, Nielsen,
Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence, Raybould, Ringo, Roberts,
Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(08), Shirley, Shively,
Smith(24), Smith(30)(Stanek), Snodgrass, Stevenson, Thayn, Thomas,
Trail, Vander Woude, Wood(27), Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Barrett, Harwood, Mortimer, Wood(35)
Absent and excused -- Black, Shepherd(02), Wills
Floor Sponsor - Ruchti
Title apvd - to Senate
03/03 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Jud
03/06 Rpt out - to 14th Ord
03/11 Rpt out amen - to 1st rdg as amen
1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/12 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/13 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 35-0-0
AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett,
Cameron, Coiner, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes,
Goedde, Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst,
Little, Lodge, Malepeai(Sagness), McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce,
Richardson, Schroeder, Siddoway, Stegner, Stennett, Werk
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Burkett
Title apvd - to House
03/14 House concurred in Senate amens - to engros
03/17 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/18 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/19 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 65-2-3
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black,
Block, Bock, Boe, Bolz, Bowers, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon,
Chavez, Chew, Clark, Collins, Crane, Durst, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart,
Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador, Lake,
LeFavour, Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, McGeachin, Moyle,
Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence, Raybould, Ringo,
Roberts, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(02),
Shepherd(08), Shirley, Shively, Smith(24), Snodgrass, Stevenson,
Thayn, Thomas, Vander Woude, Wills, Wood(27), Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Harwood, Mortimer
Absent and excused -- Smith(30), Trail, Wood(35)
Floor Sponsor - Ruchti
Title apvd - to enrol
03/20 Rpt enrol - Sp signed - Pres signed
03/21 To Governor
03/25 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 257
Effective: 07/01/08
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 517 BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION; AMENDING SECTION 48-608, IDAHO CODE, TO PRO- 3 VIDE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN CONDUCT PERPETRATED AGAINST AN 4 ELDERLY PERSON OR A DISABLED PERSON, TO PROVIDE PRIORITY FOR RESTITUTION, 5 TO DEFINE TERMS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 48-608, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 48-608. LOSS FROM PURCHASE OR LEASE -- ACTUAL AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES. (1) 10 Any person who purchases or leases goods or services and thereby suffers any 11 ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the 12 use or employment by another person of a method, act or practice declared 13 unlawful by thisactchapter, may treat any agreement incident thereto as 14 voidable or, in the alternative, may bring an action to recover actual damages 15 or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is the greater; provided, however, 16 that in the case of a class action, the class may bring an action for actual 17 damages or a total for the class that may not exceed one thousand dollars 18 ($1,000), whichever is the greater. Any such person or class may also seek 19 restitution, an order enjoining the use or employment of methods, acts or 20 practices declared unlawful under this chapter and any other appropriate 21 relief which the court in its discretion may deem just and necessary. The 22 court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and may provide such 23 equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper in cases of repeated or fla- 24 grant violations. 25 (2) An elderly person or a disabled person who brings an action under 26 subsection (1) of this section shall, in addition to the remedies available 27 under subsection (1) of this section, recover from the defendant an enhanced 28 penalty of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or treble the actual damages, 29 whichever is greater. 30 (a) In order to recover the enhanced penalty, the court must find that 31 the defendant knew or should have known that the defendant's conduct was 32 perpetrated against an elderly or disabled person and that the defendant's 33 conduct caused one (1) of the following: 34 (i) Loss or encumbrance of the elderly or disabled person's primary 35 residence; 36 (ii) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the elderly or 37 disabled person's principal source of income; 38 (iii) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds 39 belonging to the elderly or disabled person set aside by the elderly 40 or disabled person for retirement or for personal or family care or 41 maintenance; 42 (iv) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total of 43 payments that the elderly or disabled person was to receive under a 2 1 pension or retirement plan; or 2 (v) Loss of assets essential to the health or welfare of the 3 elderly or disabled person. 4 (b) If the court orders restitution under subsection (1) of this section 5 for a pecuniary or monetary loss suffered by an elderly or disabled per- 6 son, the court shall require that the restitution be paid by the defendant 7 before the defendant pay the enhanced penalty imposed by this subsection. 8 (c) In this subsection: 9 (i) "Disabled person" means a person who has an impairment of a 10 physical, mental or emotional nature that substantially limits at 11 least one (1) major life activity. 12 (ii) "Elderly person" means a person who is at least sixty-two (62) 13 years of age. 14 (iii) "Major life activity" means self-care, walking, seeing, hear- 15 ing, speaking, breathing, learning, performing manual tasks or being 16 able to be gainfully employed. 17 (3) An action brought under subsection (1) of this section may be brought 18 in the county in which the person against whom it is brought resides, has his 19 principal place of business, or is doing business, or in the county where the 20 transaction or any substantial portion thereof occurred. 21 (34) Upon commencement of any action brought under this section, the 22 clerk of the court shall, for informational purposes only, mail a copy of the 23 complaint or other initial pleading to the attorney general and, upon entry of 24 any judgment or decree in the action, shall mail a copy of such judgment or 25 decree to the attorney general. 26 (45) Costs shall be allowed to the prevailing party unless the court 27 otherwise directs. In any action brought by a person under this section, the 28 court shall award, in addition to the relief provided in this section, reason- 29 able attorney's fees to the plaintiff if he prevails. The court in its discre- 30 tion may award attorney's fees to a prevailing defendant if it finds that the 31 plaintiff's action is spurious or brought for harassment purposes only. 32 (56) Any permanent injunction, judgment or order of the court made under 33 section 48-606(1) through (3) or section 48-607, Idaho Code, shall be admissi- 34 ble as evidence in an action brought under this section48-608, Idaho Code,35 that the respondent used or employed a method, act or practice declared unlaw- 36 ful by this chapter.
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008Moved by Davis Seconded by Darrington IN THE SENATE SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.B. NO. 517, As Amended 1 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 1 2 On page 1 of the engrossed bill, in line 27, delete "defendant" and 3 insert: "offending party"; in line 31, delete "defendant" and insert: "offend- 4 ing party"; also in line 31, delete "the defendant's" and insert: "his"; and 5 in line 32, delete "the defendant's" and insert: "his". 6 On page 2, in line 6, delete "defendant" and insert: "offending party"; 7 and in line 7, delete "the defendant pay" and insert: "he pays". 2 Moved by Bock Seconded by Labrador IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE AMENDMENT TO H.B. NO. 517 1 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 1 2 On page 1 of the printed bill, in line 37, delete "source of" and insert: 3 "monthly"; in line 42, delete "total of" and insert: "monthly"; and in line 4 43, delete "was to receive" and insert: "receives".
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 517, As Amended, As Amended in the Senate BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION; AMENDING SECTION 48-608, IDAHO CODE, TO PRO- 3 VIDE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN CONDUCT PERPETRATED AGAINST AN 4 ELDERLY PERSON OR A DISABLED PERSON, TO PROVIDE PRIORITY FOR RESTITUTION, 5 TO DEFINE TERMS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 48-608, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 48-608. LOSS FROM PURCHASE OR LEASE -- ACTUAL AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES. (1) 10 Any person who purchases or leases goods or services and thereby suffers any 11 ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the 12 use or employment by another person of a method, act or practice declared 13 unlawful by thisactchapter, may treat any agreement incident thereto as 14 voidable or, in the alternative, may bring an action to recover actual damages 15 or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is the greater; provided, however, 16 that in the case of a class action, the class may bring an action for actual 17 damages or a total for the class that may not exceed one thousand dollars 18 ($1,000), whichever is the greater. Any such person or class may also seek 19 restitution, an order enjoining the use or employment of methods, acts or 20 practices declared unlawful under this chapter and any other appropriate 21 relief which the court in its discretion may deem just and necessary. The 22 court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and may provide such 23 equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper in cases of repeated or fla- 24 grant violations. 25 (2) An elderly person or a disabled person who brings an action under 26 subsection (1) of this section shall, in addition to the remedies available 27 under subsection (1) of this section, recover from the offending party an 28 enhanced penalty of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or treble the actual 29 damages, whichever is greater. 30 (a) In order to recover the enhanced penalty, the court must find that 31 the offending party knew or should have known that his conduct was perpe- 32 trated against an elderly or disabled person and that his conduct caused 33 one (1) of the following: 34 (i) Loss or encumbrance of the elderly or disabled person's primary 35 residence; 36 (ii) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the elderly or 37 disabled person's principal monthly income; 38 (iii) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds 39 belonging to the elderly or disabled person set aside by the elderly 40 or disabled person for retirement or for personal or family care or 41 maintenance; 42 (iv) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the monthly pay- 43 ments that the elderly or disabled person receives under a pension or 2 1 retirement plan; or 2 (v) Loss of assets essential to the health or welfare of the 3 elderly or disabled person. 4 (b) If the court orders restitution under subsection (1) of this section 5 for a pecuniary or monetary loss suffered by an elderly or disabled per- 6 son, the court shall require that the restitution be paid by the offending 7 party before he pays the enhanced penalty imposed by this subsection. 8 (c) In this subsection: 9 (i) "Disabled person" means a person who has an impairment of a 10 physical, mental or emotional nature that substantially limits at 11 least one (1) major life activity. 12 (ii) "Elderly person" means a person who is at least sixty-two (62) 13 years of age. 14 (iii) "Major life activity" means self-care, walking, seeing, hear- 15 ing, speaking, breathing, learning, performing manual tasks or being 16 able to be gainfully employed. 17 (3) An action brought under subsection (1) of this section may be brought 18 in the county in which the person against whom it is brought resides, has his 19 principal place of business, or is doing business, or in the county where the 20 transaction or any substantial portion thereof occurred. 21 (34) Upon commencement of any action brought under this section, the 22 clerk of the court shall, for informational purposes only, mail a copy of the 23 complaint or other initial pleading to the attorney general and, upon entry of 24 any judgment or decree in the action, shall mail a copy of such judgment or 25 decree to the attorney general. 26 (45) Costs shall be allowed to the prevailing party unless the court 27 otherwise directs. In any action brought by a person under this section, the 28 court shall award, in addition to the relief provided in this section, reason- 29 able attorney's fees to the plaintiff if he prevails. The court in its discre- 30 tion may award attorney's fees to a prevailing defendant if it finds that the 31 plaintiff's action is spurious or brought for harassment purposes only. 32 (56) Any permanent injunction, judgment or order of the court made under 33 section 48-606(1) through (3) or section 48-607, Idaho Code, shall be admissi- 34 ble as evidence in an action brought under this section48-608, Idaho Code,35 that the respondent used or employed a method, act or practice declared unlaw- 36 ful by this chapter. 3 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 517, As Amended BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION; AMENDING SECTION 48-608, IDAHO CODE, TO PRO- 3 VIDE AN ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CERTAIN CONDUCT PERPETRATED AGAINST AN 4 ELDERLY PERSON OR A DISABLED PERSON, TO PROVIDE PRIORITY FOR RESTITUTION, 5 TO DEFINE TERMS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 2. That Section 48-608, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 48-608. LOSS FROM PURCHASE OR LEASE -- ACTUAL AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES. (1) 10 Any person who purchases or leases goods or services and thereby suffers any 11 ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the 12 use or employment by another person of a method, act or practice declared 13 unlawful by thisactchapter, may treat any agreement incident thereto as 14 voidable or, in the alternative, may bring an action to recover actual damages 15 or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is the greater; provided, however, 16 that in the case of a class action, the class may bring an action for actual 17 damages or a total for the class that may not exceed one thousand dollars 18 ($1,000), whichever is the greater. Any such person or class may also seek 19 restitution, an order enjoining the use or employment of methods, acts or 20 practices declared unlawful under this chapter and any other appropriate 21 relief which the court in its discretion may deem just and necessary. The 22 court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and may provide such 23 equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper in cases of repeated or fla- 24 grant violations. 25 (2) An elderly person or a disabled person who brings an action under 26 subsection (1) of this section shall, in addition to the remedies available 27 under subsection (1) of this section, recover from the defendant an enhanced 28 penalty of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or treble the actual damages, 29 whichever is greater. 30 (a) In order to recover the enhanced penalty, the court must find that 31 the defendant knew or should have known that the defendant's conduct was 32 perpetrated against an elderly or disabled person and that the defendant's 33 conduct caused one (1) of the following: 34 (i) Loss or encumbrance of the elderly or disabled person's primary 35 residence; 36 (ii) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the elderly or 37 disabled person's principal monthly income; 38 (iii) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds 39 belonging to the elderly or disabled person set aside by the elderly 40 or disabled person for retirement or for personal or family care or 41 maintenance; 42 (iv) Loss of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the monthly pay- 43 ments that the elderly or disabled person receives under a pension or 44 retirement plan; or 45 (v) Loss of assets essential to the health or welfare of the 46 elderly or disabled person. 4 1 (b) If the court orders restitution under subsection (1) of this section 2 for a pecuniary or monetary loss suffered by an elderly or disabled per- 3 son, the court shall require that the restitution be paid by the defendant 4 before the defendant pay the enhanced penalty imposed by this subsection. 5 (c) In this subsection: 6 (i) "Disabled person" means a person who has an impairment of a 7 physical, mental or emotional nature that substantially limits at 8 least one (1) major life activity. 9 (ii) "Elderly person" means a person who is at least sixty-two (62) 10 years of age. 11 (iii) "Major life activity" means self-care, walking, seeing, hear- 12 ing, speaking, breathing, learning, performing manual tasks or being 13 able to be gainfully employed. 14 (3) An action brought under subsection (1) of this section may be brought 15 in the county in which the person against whom it is brought resides, has his 16 principal place of business, or is doing business, or in the county where the 17 transaction or any substantial portion thereof occurred. 18 (34) Upon commencement of any action brought under this section, the 19 clerk of the court shall, for informational purposes only, mail a copy of the 20 complaint or other initial pleading to the attorney general and, upon entry of 21 any judgment or decree in the action, shall mail a copy of such judgment or 22 decree to the attorney general. 23 (45) Costs shall be allowed to the prevailing party unless the court 24 otherwise directs. In any action brought by a person under this section, the 25 court shall award, in addition to the relief provided in this section, reason- 26 able attorney's fees to the plaintiff if he prevails. The court in its discre- 27 tion may award attorney's fees to a prevailing defendant if it finds that the 28 plaintiff's action is spurious or brought for harassment purposes only. 29 (56) Any permanent injunction, judgment or order of the court made under 30 section 48-606(1) through (3) or section 48-607, Idaho Code, shall be admissi- 31 ble as evidence in an action brought under this section48-608, Idaho Code,32 that the respondent used or employed a method, act or practice declared unlaw- 33 ful by this chapter.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17844C1
This legislation provides additional protection to the elderly
and the disabled under the Idaho Consumer Protection Act. In
addition to remedies already available under the Idaho Consumer
Protection Act, the elderly and the disabled may recover from the
offending party $15,000 or treble the actual damages, whichever
is greater. To qualify for this enhanced penalty, the court must
find that the offending party knew or should have known its
conduct was against an elderly or disabled person and that the
conduct caused one of the damages listed in the legislation.
FISCAL NOTE
No impact to the General Fund.
Contact
Name: Rep. James Ruchti, Rep. Raul Labrador,
Phone: 208-332-1256
Rep. John Rusche, Rep. Leon Smith
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 517