Newsletter Archive
Fair Deal NY Newsletter of December 11, 2023
The New York legislative session starts on January 3, 2024. Fair Deal NY has laid important groundwork in the off session, including educating legislators on CSPA, securing additional co-sponsors, co-hosting a legislative briefing with, and publication of an op-ed in the Albany Times Union. Our bill numbers remain S.795 (Comrie) (with 24 co-sponsors) and A.7138 (Weinstein) (with 8 co-sponsors). We recently partnered with Senator Comrie on a legislative briefing for Senators and staffers that served as an important educational event, and has led to additional support and co-sponsors. You can watch the briefing by clicking here.
We are looking forward to continuing a robust campaign in 2024 that will include in-person advocacy days in Albany, a press/social media component, and continued grassroots mobilization efforts. Please join the coalition email list by clicking here and plan to join our monthly coalition updates, to keep up with all of the latest news. If you would like to dedicate even more time to the issue, we invite you to join our Steering Committee that meets bi-weekly. Stay tuned for more opportunities to get involved in the coming weeks.
Recent Press
On October 30, the Albany Times Union ran an Op-Ed by bill co-sponsors Senator Leroy Comrie and Assembly Member Helene Weinstein entitled "New York needs a stronger consumer protection law." The co-sponsors wrote: "New Yorkers deserve a fair and just economy that protects consumers, rewards good businesses and holds bad actors accountable. The Legislature should enact the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act and make New York Number One when it comes to protections for consumers and small businesses."
On November 7, the Buffalo News ran an Op-Ed advocating for the passage of the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act by former New York State Senator David Carlucci, relating the passage of the law to the presence of unfair forced arbitration clauses included in everyday consumer and employee contracts, to the detriment of ordinary New Yorkers.
Fair Deal NY Newsletter of March 10, 2023
Campaign Update
With the new legislative session under way in Albany, the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act has a new bill number: S795. Building off of our momentum from last year, 23 Senators have co-sponsored the bill, including a majority of the Consumer Protection Committee.
On February 15th, Fair Deal NY had its first lobby day of the session in support of the bill, meeting with a number of the bill’s champions as we push to bring New York in line with the 42 other jurisdictions that already prohibit unfair and abuse business practices. Stay-tuned for more opportunities to get involved in the coming weeks.
Consumer Protection Week
With National Consumer Protection Week under way, the New York Attorney General’s Office released its top ten consumer complaints from 2022. The list is expansive, covering everything from price gouging on infant formula and flight cancellations, to perennial complaints relating to rental housing, credit cards and mortgages. The breadth of the list underscores why New York needs the same protections against unfair and abusive business practices that so many other states enjoy. Without a catch-all law prohibiting unfair and abusive business practices, New Yorkers will always remain one step behind the scammers.
Take Action
Could your organization sign on to support Fair Deal NY? It is easy to do by following the link here or clicking on the bottom red button below. Check out the Fair Deal NY website for more information.
-- Your Fair Deal NY Team
Fair Deal NY Newsletter of April 19, 2022
Panelists for the People!
On April 8, a panel of experts and advocates discussed Fair Deal NY in Albany at Caucus Weekend, hosted by the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators. Panelists Winston Berkman-Breen of the Student Borrower Protection Center, Rose Marie Cantanno of New York Legal Assistance Group, and Sarah Ludwig of the New Economy Project discussed why changes to New York's Deceptive Practices Act are crucial to protect New Yorkers from unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices, and engaged with participants on key questions about the language of the bill, its most important provisions, and how to build a robust coalition to make these important changes a reality during this legislative session.
For Your Consideration
Care to get into the weeks and read how New York's Deceptive Practices Act stacks up against UDAAPs (remember: this is shorthand for laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices) in the other fifty states? Check out the National Consumer Law Center's Consumer Protection in the States: A 50-State Evaluation of Unfair and Deceptive Practices Laws. Spoiler alert: New York has one of the weakest UDAAP statutes in the country. Fair Deal NY will strengthen it to provide New Yorkers with protections that residents in 42 other states already enjoy.
Take Action
Could your organization sign on to support Fair Deal NY? It is easy to do by following the link here.
Fair Deal NY Newsletter of March 28, 2022
What's Your Damage?
Currently, New Yorkers who are harmed by a deceptive practice can get a penalty of . . . $50 dollars! That's right: If you file a lawsuit for a deceptive practice, your award be as little as an amount needed to buy dinner for two at a fast casual restaurant. Even the treble damages award for willfully and knowing deceptive practices is limited to $1,000. And at the end of the day, this ceiling on damages is paltry and absolutely insufficient to prevent the types of deceptive practices that New Yorkers contend with every day.
The Fair Deal NY reforms will bring the damages for these violations into the 21st century, permitting recovery of a $1,000 penalty and actual damages.
For Your Consideration
As we mentioned in last week's weekly newsletter, the vast majority of states and federal law already prohibit not only deceptive practices, like New York, but also unfair and even abusive acts and practices. Washington State's Attorney General has used this authority to sue notorious student loan servicer Naviant for deceptive and unfair practices directed at student loan co-signers. A review of the Washington AG's complaint reveals dozens of allegations outlining unfair practices that are illegal under Washington law. A court recently reviewed the state's evidence, and determined that a trial was not necessary on that claim, ordering summary judgment in favor of the AG and the state's borrowers. Just think of what the New York AG could do with similar protections for New York's student loan borrowers.
Take Action
Will you tweet in support of Fair Deal NY? Here's a great tweet to send today:
Every #NewYorker deserves a fair deal. This year we must pass the Consumer & Small Business Protection Act to make #NewYork safer and fairer for all! Learn more at https://www.fairdealny.org/ @FairDealNY #NCPW2022
-- Your Fair Deal NY Team
Fair Deal NY Newsletter of March 21, 2022
What's a UDAAP?!
Are you familiar with the shorthand UDAAP? UDAAP stands for "unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices" and it is the gold standard for laws that provide basic consumer protections. Did you know that General Business Law 349, New York's Deceptive Practices Act is unusual in that it does not prohibit "unfair" or "abusive" business practices, making it much more difficult for New Yorkers to use for protection? In fact, New York's extremely limited protection for consumers lags behind 42 of 50 states and trails the federal government as well. (Delaware was in our company until less than a year ago, when it passed a rigorous unfairness ban with bipartisan support.**)
For Your Consideration
Maybe you have been wondering: What could New York do with a ban on "unfair" and "abusive" practices? Take a look at this recent release from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), about its plans to use its UDAAP authority in its examinations to combat discriminatory practices by lending institutions, including in circumstances where fair lending laws may not apply. In releasing its updated examination manual, the CFPB's correctly noted that "discrimination may meet the criteria for “unfairness” by causing substantial harm to consumers that they cannot reasonably avoid, where that harm is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition."
Take Action
Please note the three red buttons below. You can click them to read more about Fair Deal NY, follow us on Twitter, or sign the letter in support of the Fair Deal NY campaign (by April 1!). Please click below to support and share!
-- Your Fair Deal NY Team
**Here's what Delaware AG Kathy Jennings said about the need for a strengthened legal standard in DE: "Some issues are complicated; this one is not. A second-grader could tell you that unfair behavior is wrong, so it's no surprise that most adults assume it's illegal. In truth, we're one of a small handful of states where it's not explicitly illegal for business to use unfair practices like high-pressure sales tactics or price gouging. That's not company we want to keep." See more on Delaware's update to its law here.
Fair Deal NY Newsletter of March 14, 2022
For Your Consideration
This week, take a look at this recent article about the pioneering lawsuit and landmark settlement between the families of the Newtown school shooting victims and Remington, the maker of the weapon used in the shooting. Did you know that the families were able to proceed with their lawsuit under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, to hold the gun company accountable for its unethical and reckless marketing?
Take Action
We need to build our network of advocates and supporters at Fair Deal NY. Please forward this email to a two to three (or more!) possible supporters and tell them to click this link to join the Fair Deal NY Action Network and join the fight for a fairer and more equitable New York!
-- Your Fair Deal NY Team