2023 New York Laws › PEP - Personal Property › Article 9-A - Motor Vehicle Retail Leasing Act › 346 - Penalties.

§  346.  Penalties.  1.  A  lessee  who  has  suffered a loss due to a
violation of any provision of this article by  a  lessor  or  holder  is
entitled to recover his or her actual damages from the lessor or holder.
2.  Any  lessor  who  fails  to  refund  any  payment made pending the
execution of a retail  lease  agreement  within  the  time  required  by
subdivision  one  of  section  three hundred thirty-four of this article
shall be liable to the lessee for twice the amount of  the  payment  not
refunded within the time required.
3. Any lessor who fails to return a vehicle which the lessee left with
the  lessor  pending  the  execution of a retail lease agreement, or who
sells or  transfers  such  a  vehicle  contrary  to  the  provisions  of
subdivision  three of section three hundred thirty-four of this article,
shall be liable to the lessee for the value of the vehicle traded-in and
all costs and expenses incurred by the lessee because of the loss of the
vehicle.
4. In an action in which it is determined that a lessor or holder  has
violated  this  article,  the  court  shall  award to the lessee a civil
penalty of one hundred dollars.
5. (a) In an action in which it is determined that a lessor or  holder
has  violated this article, the court also shall award to the lessee the
costs of the action and to his or her attorneys their  reasonable  fees.
In  determining the award of attorney's fees, the amount of the recovery
on the behalf of the lessee is not controlling.
(b) In an action for the recovery of an amount claimed for excess wear
and tear, the court shall award to the lessee the costs  of  the  action
and  to  his  or  her  attorneys  their reasonable fees if the holder is
awarded an amount less than  an  amount  that  the  lessee  offered,  in
writing  and  prior  to  the  institution  of  the  action,  to  pay  in
satisfaction of the contested portion of the amount claimed  for  excess
wear and tear.
6.  A  violation  of  subdivision  fourteen  of  section three hundred
thirty-seven of this article is a deceptive trade practice under section
three hundred forty-nine of the general business law.
7. Whenever there shall be a violation of this article 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
violations; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the  court  or
justice  that  the  defendant  has,  in  fact, violated this section, an
injunction may  be  issued  by  the  court  or  justice,  enjoining  and
restraining  any  further  violations,  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 in any  such  proceeding
that  a  violation  of this section has occurred, the court may impose a
civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each  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.
8.  (a)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, and except as
provided in subdivisions two and three of this section, any  failure  to
comply  with the substantive provisions of this article may be corrected
within sixty days after the holder is notified thereof in writing by the
lessee or, in the absence of such  notice,  the  lessor  or  holder  may

voluntarily  correct  any  such  failure to comply and, if so corrected,
neither the lessor nor the holder shall be liable to a  lessee  for  any
penalty  under  this  section.  Within  sixty  days  after discovering a
violation of the disclosure provisions of this article, and prior to the
institution  of  an  action under this section or the receipt of written
notice of the violation from  the  lessee,  the  lessor  or  holder  may
correct  the  disclosure  violation  and,  if  so corrected, neither the
lessor nor the holder  shall  be  subject  to  any  penalty  under  this
section.
(b) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed so as to nullify or
impair  the  right of the attorney general to proceed, under subdivision
seven of this section or subdivision twelve of  section  sixty-three  of
the  executive  law,  against  a  lessor or holder who has violated this
article.
9. A lessor or holder may not be held  liable  in  an  action  brought
under   this   article   for  a  violation  of  this  article  that  was
unintentional and resulted from a bona fide  error  notwithstanding  the
maintenance  of  procedures  reasonably adapted to avoid any such error.
Examples of a bona fide error include, but are not limited to, clerical,
calculation, computer malfunction and programming, and printing  errors,
except  that  an  error  of  legal  judgment  with respect to a person's
obligations under this article is not a bona fide error.
10. An action shall not be brought under this article more  than  four
years  after  the occurrence of the act, method or practice which is the
subject of the action or more than one year after the last payment in  a
transaction  involving  the method, act or practice which is the subject
of the action, whichever is later.