Title 28, Commercial Instruments and Transactions. [Enacted title]

Unless displaced by the provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and equity, including the law merchant and the laws relating to principal and agent, estoppel, laches, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake, insolvency, or other validating or invalidating ca…

This chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term “merchant” means a person who does or would sell, lease, or transfer, either directly or indirectly, consumer goods or services, or a person who does or would supply the goods or services which are or would be the subject matter of a tra…

(a) Any person who, for himself or herself, or for another person, with intent to defraud, makes, draws, utters, or delivers any check, draft, order, or other instrument for the payment of money for goods or services upon any bank or other depository and knows or should have know…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, section 28-3308, and chapter 36 of this subtitle, the parties to an instrument in writing for the payment of money at a future time may contract therein for the payment of interest on the principal amount thereof at a rate not exc…

(a) The rate of interest in the District upon the loan or forbearance of money, goods, or things in action in the absence of expressed contract, is 6% per annum. (b) Interest, when authorized by law, on judgments or decrees against the District of Columbia, or its officers, or it…

If a person or corporation contracts in the District, (1) verbally, to pay a greater rate of interest than 6% per annum, or (2) in writing, to pay a greater rate than is permitted under section 28-3301, 28-3308, under Chapter 36 of this subtitle, or under § 26-301 et seq., the cr…

If a person or corporation in the District directly or indirectly takes or receives a greater amount of interest than is declared by this chapter to be lawful, whether in advance or not, the person or corporation paying the same may within one year after the date of payment sue f…

In an action upon a contract for the payment of money with interest at a rate forbidden by law, any payment of interest that may have been made on account of the contract is deemed to be payment made on account of the principal debt; and judgment shall be rendered for no more tha…

When in an action to recover a debt the defendant claims that payment of unlawful interest on the debt has been made to the plaintiff or those under whom he claims, which the defendant is entitled to have credited on the principal of the debt, the plaintiff or the party who recei…

The Council of the District of Columbia is authorized from time to time to provide by regulation for the exemption from the provisions of this chapter of any mortgage or loan insured or guaranteed under the National Housing Act or Chapter 37 of Title 38, United States Code, the i…

(a) On a loan (other than a loan directly secured on real estate or a direct motor vehicle installment loan covered by Chapter 36 of this subtitle) to be repaid in equal or substantially equal monthly or other periodic installments, including a loan obtained by using a check, cre…

The Council of the District of Columbia is authorized from time to time to provide by regulation for (1) the exemption from the provisions of this chapter of any loan or financial transaction, and (2) the change of any interest rate specified in this chapter. The Council is furth…

(a)(1) A lender who receives scheduled periodic payments on more than 5 loans or financial transactions in a calendar year shall furnish to the borrower, upon request, but not more than 2 times a year, a statement, in writing stating the amount of: (A) payments credited to reduci…

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the word “interest” means any compensation directly or indirectly imposed by a lender for the extension of credit for the use or forbearance of money, including any loan fee, origination fee, service and carrying charge, investigator’s fee, a…

It shall be a violation of this chapter for any lender to: (1) misrepresent as to a material fact; (2) fail to state a material fact; (3) disparage the services or business of another by false or misleading representations of material facts; (4) advertise or offer services withou…

Any lender who wilfully violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.

Any borrower who suffers a violation of any provision of this chapter by any lender may bring an action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to recover, or obtain, or enforce any of the following: (1) reasonable attorney’s fees; (2) actual and punitive damages; or (3…

Any institution of higher education located in the District of Columbia and described in the first sentence of section 101(a) of the Higher Education Amendments, approved October 7, 1998 (112 Stat. 1385; 20 U.S.C. § 1001(a) ) (other than District of Columbia Teachers’ College, Fe…

An estate, attempted to be created for a greater term than one year in real estate, other than by deed, is an estate by sufferance.

An action may not be brought to charge an executor or administrator upon a special promise to answer damages out of his own estate, or to charge the defendant upon a special promise to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another person, or to charge a person upon an a…

A declaration or creation of trust or confidence of real estate which is not in writing, signed by the party who is by law enabled to declare the trust or by his last will in writing, is void. A grant or assignment of a trust or confidence which is not in writing, signed by the p…

In an action upon a simple contract, an acknowledgement, or promise, by words only is not sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract whereby to take the case out of the operation of the statute of limitations or to deprive a party of the benefit thereof unless the acknow…

An action may not be maintained to charge a person upon an acknowledgment of, or promise to pay, a debt contracted during infancy, made after full age, except for necessaries, unless the acknowledgement or promise is in writing signed by the party to be charged therewith. This se…

The provisions of the Act approved April 22, 1960 (Public Law 86-431, 74 Stat. 69; D.C. Code, 1967 Ed., Chapter 9 of Title 40, [Chapter 6 of Title 50, 2001 Ed.]), covering installment sales of motor vehicles, as amended, and the regulations issued thereunder, shall apply to the e…

Such a bank or savings and loan association may contract for and receive interest at the rate provided for in Chapter 33 of this subtitle, or, in lieu of such interest, a finance charge which, if expressed as an annual percentage rate, does not exceed a rate of 21% per annum on t…

As used in this chapter, “finance charge” and “annual percentage rate” shall have the respective meanings under the provisions of the Truth-in-Lending Act (82 Stat. 146 et seq.; 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and the regulations and interpretations thereunder; and “federally insured ban…

As used in this chapter — (1) “revolving credit account” means an arrangement between a seller or financial institution and a buyer pursuant to which (A) the seller or financial institution may permit the buyer to purchase goods or services on credit from time to time, either dir…

(a) The seller or financial institution may contract for the payment by the buyer of a credit service charge not exceeding that permitted by this section. (b) A credit service charge may be made in each billing cycle. For the purpose of computing the outstanding balance subject t…

This subchapter applies to actions to enforce rights arising from a consumer credit sale or a direct installment loan.

As used in this chapter — (1) “revolving credit account” means a revolving credit account as defined in section 28-3701 of this subtitle; (2) “consumer credit sale” means a sale of goods or services in which — (A) a credit is granted by a person who regularly engages as a seller …

With respect to a consumer credit sale or direct installment loans except for revolving credit accounts: (1) No creditor shall at any time enter into an agreement which contains or anticipates a schedule of payments under which any one payment is not equal or substantially equal …

(a) A creditor may not take an assignment of earnings of the consumer for payment or as security for payment of an obligation arising out of a consumer credit sale or direct installment loan. (b) A creditor may not take or accept from the consumer a warrant or power of attorney o…

(a) If debts arising from two or more consumer credit sales other than sales pursuant to a revolving charge account (section 28-3701), are secured by cross-collateral, or consolidated into one debt payable on a single schedule of payments, and the debt is secured by security inte…

With respect to a consumer credit sale or direct installment loan the agreement may provide for the payment by the consumer of reasonable attorney’s fees not in excess of 15% of the unpaid balance of the obligation.

(a) In a consumer credit sale, no seller shall take or otherwise arrange for the consumer to sign an instrument, except a check, payable “to order” or “to bearer” as evidence of the credit obligation of the consumer. (b) Any holder of an instrument prohibited by subsection (a) of…

(a) With respect to a consumer credit sale, an assignee of the rights of the seller or lessor is subject to all claims and defenses of the consumer or lessee arising out of the sale notwithstanding any terms or agreements to the contrary, but the assignee’s liability under this s…

(a) A lender who makes a direct installment loan for the purpose of enabling a consumer to purchase goods or services is subject to all claims and defenses of the consumer against the seller arising out of the purchase of the goods or service if such lender acts at the express re…

With respect to a consumer credit sale, the seller or lessor may not give or offer to give a rebate or discount or otherwise pay or offer to pay value to the buyer or lessee as an inducement for a sale or lease in consideration of his giving to the seller or lessor the names of p…

(a) As used in this section, “home solicitation sale” means a cash sale or a consumer credit sale of goods, other than farm equipment, or services in which the seller or a person acting for him engages in a personal solicitation of the sale at or near a residence of the buyer and…

(a) This section applies to actions or other proceedings to enforce rights arising from consumer credit sales, consumer leases, and direct installment loans (other than a loan directly secured on real estate or a direct motor vehicle installment loan covered by Chapter 36 of Titl…

(a) The remedies provided by this section shall be liberally administered to the end that the consumer as the aggrieved party shall be put in at least as good a position as if the creditor had fully complied with this chapter. Except as is otherwise specifically provided where th…

(a) This section applies to conduct and practices in connection with the collection of obligations arising from any consumer debt (other than a loan directly secured on real estate or a direct motor vehicle installment loan covered by Chapter 36 of this title). (b) As used in thi…

(a) As used in this section — (1) “Commissioner” [“Mayor”] means the Commissioner of the District of Columbia [Mayor of the District of Columbia] or his designated agent; (b) Compliance with the requirements imposed under this chapter shall be enforced by the Commissioner [Mayor]…

If any provision of law or regulation promulgated thereunder is inconsistent with this chapter, this chapter shall govern, unless this chapter or the inconsistent provision of the other laws specifically provides otherwise.

(a) As used in this section, the term — (1) “health spa” means a proposed or existing location or organization with indoor or outdoor facilities for physical sport, exercise, training, or therapy or rehabilitation. It does not include any location, the primary activity of which i…