1, eff. POST JUDGMENT RELIEF. (b) If a person fails to comply with a directive of the consumer protection division under Section 17.60 of this subchapter or with a civil investigative demand for documentary material served on him under Section 17.61 of this subchapter, or if satisfactory copying or reproduction of the material cannot be done and the person refuses to surrender the material, the consumer protection division may file in the district court in the county in which the person resides, is found, or transacts business, and serve on the person, a petition for an order of the court for enforcement of Sections 17.60 and 17.61 of this subchapter. September 1, 2015. '75-1.1. May 21, 1973. An inventory filed under this subchapter must be in the form of a sworn affidavit. The consumer protection division shall notify the district or county attorney it no longer intends to actively investigate or litigate an alleged violation within a reasonable time of such determination. Upon adequate notice and hearing, the court shall appoint a receiver over the defendant's business unless the defendant proves that all of the presumptions set forth in Subsection (a) of this section are not applicable. The DTPA empowers consumers and businesses to pursue legal action against deceptive companies and individuals as a consumer protection statute. While consumers in Texas are encouraged to be mindful of their financial and commercial activity, many consumers are unaware of the nuances of the DTPA. A Consumer Update: Recent Developments Under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 20 ST. MARY'S L.J. consumer, employee Students also viewed VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. Sept. 1, 1995. 2018), Sec. MEDIATION. The term does not include this state or a subdivision or agency of this state. (b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. (3) an unconscionable action or course of action that cannot be characterized as advice, judgment, or opinion. 1230 (H.B. May 21, 1973. Sept. 1, 1995. (d) Service of any demand may be made by: (1) delivering a duly executed copy of the demand to the person to be served or to a partner or to any officer or agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process on behalf of that person; (2) delivering a duly executed copy of the demand to the principal place of business in the state of the person to be served; (3) mailing by registered mail or certified mail a duly executed copy of the demand addressed to the person to be served at the principal place of business in this state, or if the person has no place of business in this state, to his principal office or place of business. (b) If none of the proceeds from the sale of the donated items will be given to a charitable organization, the disclosure required by Subsection (a) must state: (c) If any of the proceeds from the sale of the donated items will be given to a charitable organization, the disclosure required by Subsection (a) must state: "DONATIONS TO (NAME OF FOR-PROFIT ENTITY OR INDIVIDUAL) WILL BE SOLD FOR PROFIT AND _______ PERCENT (INSERT PERCENTAGE) OF ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO (NAME OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION).". Sec. Subject to Chapter 41, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, exemplary damages may be awarded in the event of fraud or malice. 17.826. Sept. 1, 2003. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. (d) The waiver required by Subsection (c) may be modified to waive only specified rights under this subchapter. (c) A person's proprietary mark appearing on or in a statement described in Subsection (a) of this section is prima facie evidence that the person disseminated the statement. Sec. INJUNCTION. (34) a warrantor of a vehicle protection product warranty using, in connection with the product, a name that includes "casualty," "surety," "insurance," "mutual," or any other word descriptive of an insurance business, including property or casualty insurance, or a surety business. 17.84. 28, eff. 5, eff. Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act Adopted: No (Bus. CONSTRUCTION OF SUBCHAPTER. (6) "Name or mark" means any permanently affixed or permanently stamped name or mark that is used for the purpose of identifying the owner of a shopping cart, laundry cart, or container. 414, Sec. Sec. 1, eff. 1, eff. Added by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 322, ch. 921 (H.B. 858 (H.B. 143, Sec. (j) If Subsection (g) does not apply, the court shall award as damages the amount of economic damages and damages for mental anguish found by the trier of fact, subject to Sections 17.50 and 17.501. 7. 17.41 to 505) Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act: False Advertising Forbidden: (b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a person may not use a representation of the state seal: (1) to advertise or publicize tangible personal property or a commercial undertaking; or. (b) The court shall abate the action for 60 days if the court finds that notice was not provided to the consumer protection division as required by Subsection (a). Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 17.91. 143, Sec. Web74 Journal of Texas Consumer Law 2005 I. Deceptive Advertising 17.29. LATER SALES. September 1, 2019. Sec. 17.89. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, Section 17.46(b)(27) applies only to an act described by that subdivision that occurs during a designated disaster period in this state. 17.885. 5, eff. (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, if a claimant is granted the right to bring a cause of action under this subchapter by another law, the claimant is not limited to recovery of economic damages only, but may recover any actual damages incurred by the claimant, without regard to whether the conduct of the defendant was committed intentionally. Section 287; or. (g) If the court finds that the amount tendered in the settlement offer for damages under Subsection (d)(1) is the same as, substantially the same as, or more than the damages found by the trier of fact, the consumer may not recover as damages any amount in excess of the lesser of: (1) the amount of damages tendered in the settlement offer; or. No district or county attorney may bring an action under this section against any licensed insurer or licensed insurance agent transacting business under the authority and jurisdiction of the State Board of Insurance unless first requested in writing to do so by the State Board of Insurance, the commissioner of insurance, or the consumer protection division pursuant to a request by the State Board of Insurance or commissioner of insurance. Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 604, ch. The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act. PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL. (a) Whenever the consumer protection division believes that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of the original copy of any documentary material relevant to the subject matter of an investigation of a possible violation of this subchapter, an authorized agent of the division may execute in writing and serve on the person a civil investigative demand requiring the person to produce the documentary material and permit inspection and copying. Sec. 17.506. 414, Sec. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 17.45. NO PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. 1, eff. SALE OF NONHALAL FOOD. 1, eff. (C) the discount is not false, misleading, or deceptive; (19) using or employing a chain referral sales plan in connection with the sale or offer to sell of goods, merchandise, or anything of value, which uses the sales technique, plan, arrangement, or agreement in which the buyer or prospective buyer is offered the opportunity to purchase merchandise or goods and in connection with the purchase receives the seller's promise or representation that the buyer shall have the right to receive compensation or consideration in any form for furnishing to the seller the names of other prospective buyers if receipt of the compensation or consideration is contingent upon the occurrence of an event subsequent to the time the buyer purchases the merchandise or goods; (20) representing that a guaranty or warranty confers or involves rights or remedies which it does not have or involve, provided, however, that nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to expand the implied warranty of merchantability as defined in Sections 2.314 through 2.318 and Sections 2A.212 through 2A.216 to involve obligations in excess of those which are appropriate to the goods; (21) promoting a pyramid promotional scheme, as defined by Section 17.461; (22) representing that work or services have been performed on, or parts replaced in, goods when the work or services were not performed or the parts replaced; (23) filing suit founded upon a written contractual obligation of and signed by the defendant to pay money arising out of or based on a consumer transaction for goods, services, loans, or extensions of credit intended primarily for personal, family, household, or agricultural use in any county other than in the county in which the defendant resides at the time of the commencement of the action or in the county in which the defendant in fact signed the contract; provided, however, that a violation of this subsection shall not occur where it is shown by the person filing such suit that the person neither knew or had reason to know that the county in which such suit was filed was neither the county in which the defendant resides at the commencement of the suit nor the county in which the defendant in fact signed the contract; (24) failing to disclose information concerning goods or services which was known at the time of the transaction if such failure to disclose such information was intended to induce the consumer into a transaction into which the consumer would not have entered had the information been disclosed; (25) using the term "corporation," "incorporated," or an abbreviation of either of those terms in the name of a business entity that is not incorporated under the laws of this state or another jurisdiction; (26) selling, offering to sell, or illegally promoting an annuity contract under Chapter 22, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 1962 (Article 6228a-5, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), with the intent that the annuity contract will be the subject of a salary reduction agreement, as defined by that Act, if the annuity contract is not an eligible qualified investment under that Act; (27) subject to Section 17.4625, taking advantage of a disaster declared by the governor under Chapter 418, Government Code, or by the president of the United States by: (A) selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine, lodging, building materials, construction tools, or another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price; or. (4) "Product" means a good, a service, or intangible property of any kind. The statute, which adopts the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, addresses general consumer protection provisions and also provides (c) The order appointing a receiver must clearly state whether the receiver will have general power to manage and operate the defendant's business or have power to manage only a defendant's finances. 4170), Sec. If you have been misled or deceived in a commercial transaction, the Texas consumer fraud attorneys at Tauler Smith LLP can help you file a DTPA claim. (a) This subchapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes, which are to protect consumers against false, misleading, and deceptive business practices, unconscionable actions, and breaches of warranty and to provide efficient and economical procedures to secure such protection. In the State of Texas, the statute of limitations to bring a lawsuit under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) is two years from the date that the alleged misleading, false, deceptive practice or act occurred. (a) If the attorney general has reason to believe that a person is engaging in, has engaged in, or is about to engage in an act or practice that violates Section 17.902, and that proceedings would be in the public interest, the attorney general may bring an action in the name of the state against the person to restrain that act or practice by temporary or permanent injunction. The secretary of state may bring a civil action to enjoin a violation of this section or the rules adopted under this section. Second or subsequent violations of an injunction issued under this section are subject to the same penalties set out in Subsection (e) of this section. Aug. 27, 1979; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 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