2023 New York Laws › VAT - Vehicle and Traffic › Title 4 - Registration of Vehicles › Article 16 - Registration of Dealers and Transporters › 417-A - Mandatory Disclosures by Sellers Prior to Resale.

§ 417-a. Mandatory   disclosures   by  sellers  prior  to  resale.  1.
Certificate of prior use by dealer. (a) Upon the  sale  or  transfer  of
title by a dealer of any second-hand passenger motor vehicle, the dealer
shall  execute  and  deliver  to the buyer an instrument in writing in a
form prescribed by the commissioner which shall set forth the nature  of
the  principal  prior  use  of such vehicle when the dealer knows or has
reason to know that such use was as a taxicab,  rental  vehicle,  police
vehicle,  or  vehicle  which  has  been  repurchased  pursuant to either
section one hundred ninety-eight-a or one hundred ninety-eight-b of  the
general  business  law,  a  similar  statute  of  another  state,  or an
arbitration or alternative dispute procedure.
(b) Upon the sale or transfer of title by a dealer  of  any  passenger
motor vehicle that the dealer knows or has reason to know was previously
used as a driver education vehicle, the dealer shall execute and deliver
to  the  buyer  an  instrument  in  writing  in a form prescribed by the
commissioner acknowledging such prior use.
2. Certificate of prior nonconformity by manufacturer or dealer.  Upon
the sale or transfer of title by a manufacturer, its agent or any dealer
of  any second-hand motor vehicle, previously returned to a manufacturer
or  dealer  for  nonconformity  to   its   warranty   or   after   final
determination,  adjudication  or  settlement  pursuant  to  section  one
hundred ninety-eight-a or one  hundred  ninety-eight-b  of  the  general
business  law,  the  manufacturer or dealer shall execute and deliver to
the buyer  an  instrument  in  writing  in  a  form  prescribed  by  the
commissioner  setting  forth the following information in ten point, all
capital type: "IMPORTANT: THIS VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE  MANUFACTURER
OR  DEALER  BECAUSE IT DID NOT CONFORM TO ITS WARRANTY AND THE DEFECT OR
CONDITION WAS NOT FIXED WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME AS PROVIDED BY NEW YORK
LAW." Such notice that a vehicle was returned  to  the  manufacturer  or
dealer  because  it  did  not  conform  to  its  warranty  shall also be
conspicuously printed on the motor vehicle's certificate of title.
3. Violation. The failure of a dealer to  deliver  to  the  buyer  the
instrument  required  by  this  section or the delivery of an instrument
containing false or misleading information shall constitute a  violation
of this section.
4.  Private  Remedy. A consumer injured by a violation of this section
may bring an action to recover damages.  Judgment  may  be  entered  for
three  times  the  actual  damages suffered by a consumer or one hundred
dollars, whichever  is  greater.  A  court  also  may  award  reasonable
attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff buyer.
5.  a.  Action  by  the  attorney  general. Upon any violation of this
section, an application may be made by the attorney general in the  name
of  the  people  of  the  state of New York to a court or justice having
jurisdiction to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of
not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance  of  the
violation.  If  it  shall  appear  to  the  satisfaction of the court or
justice that the defendant has violated this section, an injunction  may
be issued by the court or justice, enjoining and restraining any further
violation,  without  requiring  proof that any person has, in fact, been
injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding, the court  may  make
allowances  to  the  attorney  general  as  provided in paragraph six of
subdivision (a) of section  eighty-three  hundred  three  of  the  civil
practice law and rules, and direct restitution.
b. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section
has  occurred,  it  may  impose  a  civil  penalty  of not more than one
thousand dollars for each violation. In connection with  an  application
made  under this subdivision, the attorney general is authorized to take

proof and to make a determination of the relevant  facts  and  to  issue
subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.