2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 6 - CONSUMER AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-28-102) › FAIR TRADE AND RESTRAINT OF TRADE (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-6.5-101) › Article 1 - COLORADO CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-1-1707) › Part 1 - CONSUMER PROTECTION - GENERAL (§§ 6-1-101 — 6-1-116) › Section 6-1-112 - Civil penalties

(1)
The attorney general or a district attorney may bring a civil action on behalf of the state to seek the imposition of civil penalties as follows:
(a)
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any person who violates or causes another to violate any provision of this article 1 shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of this state a civil penalty of not more than twenty thousand dollars for each such violation. For purposes of this subsection (1)(a), a violation of any provision shall constitute a separate violation with respect to each consumer or transaction involved.
(b)
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any person who violates or causes another to violate any court order or injunction issued pursuant to this article 1 shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of this state a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each such violation. For the purposes of this section, the court issuing the order or injunction shall retain jurisdiction, and the cause shall be continued. Upon violation, the attorney general or a district attorney may petition the court for the recovery of the civil penalty. Such civil penalty shall be in addition to any other penalty or remedy available for the enforcement of the provisions of this article 1 and any court order or injunction.
(c)
Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, any person who violates or causes another to violate any provision of this article 1, where such violation was committed against an elderly person, shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not more than fifty thousand dollars for each such violation. For purposes of this subsection (1)(c), a violation of any provision of this article 1 is a separate violation with respect to each elderly person involved.
(d)
Any person who violates or causes another to violate the provisions of section
6-1-105 (1)(fff)
by distributing, dispensing, displaying for sale, offering for sale, attempting to sell, or selling any product that is labeled as a "bath salt" or any other trademark if the product contains any amount of any cathinones, as defined in section
18-18-102
(3.5), C.R.S., shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars and not more than five hundred thousand dollars for each such violation; except that the person shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars and not more than five hundred thousand dollars for each such violation if the person distributes, dispenses, displays for sale, offers for sale, attempts to sell, or sells the product to a minor under the age of eighteen and the person is at least eighteen years of age and at least two years older than the minor.
(e)
Any person who violates or causes another to violate the provisions of section
6-1-105 (1)(ggg)
by distributing, dispensing, displaying for sale, offering for sale, attempting to sell, or selling any product that contains any amount of any synthetic cannabinoid, as defined in section
18-18-102
(34.5), C.R.S., shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars and not more than five hundred thousand dollars for each violation; except that the person shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars and not more than five hundred thousand dollars for each violation if the person distributes, dispenses, displays for sale, offers for sale, attempts to sell, or sells the product to a minor under the age of eighteen and the person is at least eighteen years of age and at least two years older than the minor.
(f)
(I)
Any person who violates section
6-16-111 (1)(a) to (1)(g)
shall forfeit and pay a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars for each violation, with a cap of three million dollars for a related series of violations. In determining a civil penalty under this subsection (1)(f), the court shall adjust the limitations cap for inflation based on the cumulative annual adjustment for inflation for each full year since August 10, 2016. The adjustments made under this subsection (1)(f)(I) are rounded upward or downward to the nearest ten-dollar increment. As used in this subsection (1)(f)(I), "inflation" means the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid by all urban consumers, or its applicable predecessor or successor index.
(II)
Any civil penalty recovered under this paragraph (f) is paid to the attorney general and held as custodial money. The attorney general shall petition the district court having jurisdiction over the underlying civil enforcement action for approval to grant the custodial money to a charity in accordance with the cy pres doctrine within two years after receipt by the attorney general.
(2)
For accounting purposes, a fine or penalty received by the state under this article 1 is a damage award.
(3)
The attorney general or district attorney shall transmit any civil penalty collected in accordance with this section for a violation described in section
6-1-105 (1)(dddd)
to the state treasurer for deposit in the mobile home park water quality fund created in section
25-8-1006
.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 376,§ 3, eff. 6/5/2023.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 268, § 3, eff. 5/23/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 274, § 1, eff. 5/29/2018.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 262, § 1, eff. 8/10/2016.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 358, § 3, eff. 8/6/2014.
L. 69: p. 376, § 9. C.R.S. 1963: § 55-5-9. L. 77: Entire section amended, p. 351, § 8, effective July 1. L. 87: Entire section amended, p. 359, § 8, effective July 1. L. 2000: (3) added, p. 1107, § 2, effective August 2. L. 2009: Entire section amended, (SB 09-054), ch. 596, p. 596, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2012: (1)(d) added, (HB 12-1310), ch. 1406, p. 1406, § 33, effective June 7. L. 2014: (1)(d) amended and (1)(e) added, (HB 14-1037), ch. 1682, p. 1682, § 3, effective August 6. L. 2016: (1)(f) added, (HB 16-1129), ch. 1075, p. 1075, § 1, effective August 10. L. 2018: (1)(f)(I) amended, (HB 18-1375), ch. 1694, p. 1694, § 1, effective May 29. L. 2019: (1)(a) and (1)(c) amended and (2) added, (HB 19-1289), ch. 2516, p. 2516, § 3, effective May 23.
Section 5 of chapter 268 (HB 19-1289), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that the act changing this section applies to civil actions filed on or after May 23, 2019.