2023 New York Laws › GBS - General Business › Article 26 - Miscellaneous › 391-M - Manufacture and Sale of In-Line Skates; Regulation Of.

§  391-m. Manufacture and sale of in-line skates; regulation of. 1. As
used in this section, the term:
(a) "Protective gear" shall mean the following: a helmet  meeting  the
standards  established by the commissioner of motor vehicles pursuant to
subdivision two-a of section twelve hundred thirty-eight of the  vehicle
and  traffic  law;  and  wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads of such
standards, designs, sizes, strengths, and thicknesses as will reduce the
risk to the wearer of serious physical injury caused by  impact  to  the
body part on which such protective gear is designed to be worn, such as,
but not limited to, from falls and collisions.
(b) "In-line skate" shall mean a manufactured or assembled device each
consisting of an upper portion that is intended to be secured to a human
foot, with a frame or chassis attached along the length of the bottom of
such  upper  portion,  with  such  frame  or chassis holding two or more
wheels that are longitudinally aligned and used to skate  or  glide,  by
means  of  human foot and leg power while having such device attached to
each such foot or leg.
(c) "Brake" shall mean a part which is secured to an in-line skate, as
defined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, and intended to enable the
user to control his or her speed and/or come to a stop.
(d) "Warning instruction" shall mean a label, hangtag, shield or plate
which is  clearly  visible  to  the  consumer,  with  substantially  the
following  notice  printed  in  clear  and  conspicuous type: "WARNING !
REDUCE THE RISK OF SERIOUS  INJURY  AND  ONLY  USE  THESE  SKATES  WHILE
WEARING  FULL  PROTECTIVE  GEAR  - HELMET, WRIST GUARDS, ELBOW PADS, AND
KNEE PADS."
2. (a) No person, firm,  corporation,  or  other  legal  entity  which
manufactures  or  assembles  in-line skates shall manufacture, assemble,
sell, offer to sell, or distribute in this  state  such  in-line  skates
unless: (i) at least one such in-line skate in each pair manufactured or
assembled  is manufactured or assembled with a brake, as defined in this
section; and  (ii)  at  least  one  such  in-line  skate  in  each  pair
manufactured  or assembled contains a warning instruction, as defined in
this section, either on at least one such in-line skate in each pair  or
on  the  outside of the box in which such pair of in-line skates is sold
or offered for sale at retail; and  (iii)  each  such  pair  of  in-line
skates  which contains a user's guide or buyer's instruction manual also
contains a warning instruction, as defined in this section, within or on
such guide or manual; and, (iv) every in-line skate is equipped  with  a
reflective device or material meeting the standards established by rules
and  regulations promulgated by the commissioner of motor vehicles. Each
pair of in-line skates which is manufactured or assembled by  a  person,
firm,  corporation,  or  other  legal  entity  for special use by highly
skilled or expert skaters or for sale  or  distribution  through  custom
orders,  such  as  in-line  hockey  skates  and in-line speed skates, is
exempt from the requirements of items (i) and (iv)  of  this  paragraph,
provided that such person, firm, corporation or other legal entity which
manufactures  or  assembles  such  pair  of  in-line  skates clearly and
conspicuously labels at least one in-line skate in  each  such  pair  of
in-line  skates  or the outside of the box in which such pair of in-line
skates is sold or offered for sale at retail with the following  warning
in  substantially  the  following  form:  "WARNING: THESE IN-LINE SKATES
CONTAIN NO BRAKES OR REFLECTIVE MATERIAL AND  ARE  INTENDED  FOR  HIGHLY
SKILLED OR EXPERT SKATERS ONLY".
(b)  No  person,  firm,  corporation  or  other  legal entity which is
regularly engaged in the business of  selling,  offering  for  sale,  or
distributing  in-line  skates  at  retail  for consumer use, shall sell,
offer to sell, or distribute in this state such  in-line  skates  unless

such  in-line skates conform to the manufacturing requirements set forth
in paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
(c)  No  person,  firm,  corporation,  or  other legal entity which is
regularly engaged in the business of  selling,  offering  for  sale,  or
distributing  in-line  skates  at  retail, for consumer use, shall offer
such in-line skates for sale in the normal course of  business  in  this
state  unless  such  person,  firm,  corporation,  or other legal entity
contemporaneously offers for sale  upon  the  same  premises  protective
gear, as defined in this section.
(d)   Whenever  there  shall  be  a  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 by a special proceeding to issue an  injunction,  and  upon
notice  to  the  defendant  of  not  less  than five days, to enjoin and
restrain the continuance of such violation; and if it  shall  appear  to
the  satisfaction  of  the  court  or justice that the defendant has, in
fact, violated this article, an injunction may be issued by  such  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.  Whenever  the  court  shall  determine  that  a
violation  of  this  article  has occurred, the court may impose a civil
penalty of not more than five hundred dollars  for  such  violation.  In
connection  with  any such proposed application, the attorney general is
authorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant  facts
and  to  issue  subpoenas  in accordance with the civil practice law and
rules.
(e) No person, firm,  corporation  or  other  legal  entity  which  is
regularly  engaged  in  the  business  of  manufacturing,  distributing,
selling, or offering for sale in-line skates shall  be  deemed  to  have
violated  the  provisions  of  this  subdivision,  if such person, firm,
corporation or other legal entity shows by a preponderance  of  evidence
that  the  violation  was  not intentional and resulted from a bona fide
error made notwithstanding  the  maintenance  of  procedures  reasonably
adopted to avoid any such error.
(f)  This subdivision shall not apply to the sale of in-line skates or
protective gear sold or offered for sale by consumers for consumer use.