Title 26, Trade Regulation And Practice

[§480-13.5] Additional civil penalties for consumer frauds committed against elders. (a) If a person commits a violation under section 480-2 which is directed toward, targets, or injures an elder, a court, in addition to any other civil penalty, may impose a civil penalty not to …

§480-14 Suits by the State; amount of recovery. (a) Whenever the State or any of its political subdivisions or governmental agencies is injured, directly or indirectly, in its business or property by reason of anything forbidden or declared unlawful by this chapter, it may sue to…

§480-15 Injunction by attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection. The attorney general may bring proceedings to enjoin any violation of this chapter; provided that the director of the office of consumer protection may also bring proceedings to enjoin an…

§480-15.1 Penalty. Any person, firm, company, association, or corporation violating an injunctive order to cease and desist from violating any provisions of this chapter shall be fined by a sum not less than $500 nor more than $10,000, which sum shall be collected in a civil acti…

§480-16 Violation a felony. (a) Any person who violates section 480-4, 480-6, 480-9, or 480-17, including any principal, manager, director, officer, agent, servant, or employee, who had engaged in or has participated in the determination to engage in an activity that has been eng…

§480-17 Individual liability for corporate or company act. (a) Whenever a corporation violates any of the penal provisions of this chapter, the violation shall be deemed to be also that of the individual directors, officers, or agents of the corporation who have authorized, order…

§480-18 Investigation. (a) Whenever it appears to the attorney general, either upon complaint or otherwise, that any person or persons have engaged in or engages in or is about to engage in any act or practice by this chapter prohibited or declared to be illegal, or that any pers…

§480-19 Additional parties defendant. Whenever it appears to the court before which any civil proceeding under this chapter is pending that the ends of justice require that other parties be brought before the court, the court may cause them to be made parties defendant and summon…

§480-2 Unfair competition, practices, declared unlawful. (a) Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are unlawful. (b) In construing this section, the courts and the office of consumer protection shall give d…

§480-20 Duty of the attorney general; duty of county attorney, etc. (a) The attorney general shall enforce the criminal and civil provisions of this chapter. The county attorney, or prosecuting attorney of any county shall investigate and report suspected violations of this chapt…

§480-21 Court and venue. (a) Any criminal action or proceeding authorized by this chapter shall be brought in any appropriate court in the circuit in which the defendant resides, engages in business, or has an agent. (b) Any civil action or proceeding authorized by this chapter m…

§480-22 Judgment in favor of the State as evidence in private action; suspension of limitation. (a) A final judgment or decree rendered in any civil or criminal proceeding brought by the State under this chapter shall be prima facie evidence against the defendant in any action or…

§480-23 Immunity from prosecution. (a) If, in any investigation brought by the attorney general pursuant to section 480-18, a person refuses, on the basis of the person's privilege against self-incrimination, to attend, to testify or produce a record, document, or other object in…

§480-23.1 Procedures. (a) If a person has been or may be subpoenaed to testify or to produce a record, document, or other object in an official proceeding under this chapter, the investigating officer shall, when the investigation reaches a stage when the posture of discovered ev…

§480-23.2 Use immunity. The testimony or production that is compelled under the order, and any information directly or indirectly derived from the testimony or production, may not be used against the person in any manner in a criminal case, except in a prosecution for perjury, fo…

§480-23.3 Transactional immunity. If a person is ordered to testify or produce a record, document, or other object under this chapter and the order specified that the person is granted transactional immunity pursuant to this section, such person shall not be prosecuted or punishe…

§480-23.4 Penalty. Any witness granted immunity under section 480-23(b) who fails or refuses to testify or produce information may be punished by the court for contempt, provided that the witness may also be charged with and convicted of perjury, for giving a false statement, or …

§480-24 Limitation of actions. Any action to enforce a cause of action arising under this chapter shall be barred unless commenced within four years after the cause of action accrues, except as otherwise provided in section 480-22. For the purpose of this section, a cause of acti…

§480-3 Interpretation. This chapter shall be construed in accordance with judicial interpretations of similar federal antitrust statutes, except that lawsuits by indirect purchasers may be brought as provided in this chapter. [L 1965, c 129, pt of §1; Supp, §205A-1.2; HRS §480-3;…

§480-3.1 Civil penalty. Any person, firm, company, association, or corporation violating any of the provisions of section 480-2 shall be fined a sum of not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 for each violation, which sum shall be collected in a civil action brought by the attor…

[§480-3.3] Endless chain schemes. A person engages in an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of section 480-2 when, in the conduct of any trade or commerce, the person contrives, prepares, sets up, proposes, or operates any e…

§480-4 Combinations in restraint of trade, price-fixing and limitation of production prohibited. (a) Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce in the State, or in any section of this State is illegal. (b) Witho…

§480-5 Requirements and output contracts; tying agreements. No person shall sell or buy any commodity, or fix a price or discount from, or rebate upon, such price, on the condition, agreement, or understanding that the other person or persons shall not deal in the commodity of a …

§480-6 Refusal to deal. No person shall refuse to sell any commodity to, or to buy any commodity from, any other person or persons, when the refusal is for the purpose of compelling or inducing the other person or persons to agree to or engage in acts which, if acceded to, are pr…

§480-7 Mergers, acquisitions, holdings, and divestitures. (a) No person shall acquire and hold, directly or indirectly, the whole or any part of the stock, interest, or membership of any other person, or the whole or any part of the assets of any other person, where the effect of…

§480-8 Interlocking directorates and relationships. (a) From and after February 21, 1962, no person shall be at the same time a director, officer, partner, or trustee in any two or more firms, partnerships, trusts, associations, or corporations or any combination thereof, engaged…

§480-9 Monopolization. No person shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce in any commodity in any section of the State. [L 1961, c 190, §7; Supp, §205A-7; HRS §480-9]

[§480B-1] General definitions. As used in this chapter: "Media" means any printed publication of general distribution in the State issued once or more per year that is a party to the Mutual Publishing Plan Agreement as executed on May 31, 1962, and any subsequent amendments. [L 1…

[§480B-2] Disclosure. (a) The media shall submit to the attorney general, no later than thirty days after December 31 of the reporting year, an income tax return filed pursuant to section 235-4. (b) Any media filing an annual income tax return pursuant to subsection (a) shall als…

[§480B-3] Annual report. The attorney general shall submit an annual report to the United States Department of Justice with regard to the information provided in section 480B-2. [L 1995, c 243, pt of §2]

[§480D-1] Scope and purpose. This chapter is intended to ensure that consumers are not subjected to unfair, deceptive, coercive, abusive, or harassing conduct in collection activities that are covered by this chapter. This chapter is intended to cover collection activities by deb…

§480D-2 Definitions. As used in this chapter: "Consumer debt" means any debt of a natural person incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. "Debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a person to pay money arising out of any transaction, whether or n…

[§480D-3] Prohibited practices. It shall be a prohibited practice for any debt collector to engage in any of the following practices while collecting a consumer debt: (1) To threaten the use of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to the physical person, reputation, or …

[§480D-4] Enforcement. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), any person who engages in any practice prohibited by this chapter shall be deemed to have engaged in an unfair method of competition or unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce …

[§480D-5] Remedies not exclusive. The remedies provided for in this chapter are in addition to and not exclusive of any other remedies provided by law. [L 1987, c 191, pt of §2]

§480E-1 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to protect Hawaii consumers from persons who prey on consumers by offering services that purport to provide relief from consumers' mortgage loan obligations or from other filed or threatened liens or encumbrances against their prope…

§480E-10 Prohibitions. (a) A distressed property consultant shall not: (1) Represent, expressly or by implication, in connection with the advertising, marketing, promotion, offering for sale, or performance of any mortgage assistance relief service, that a distressed property own…

§480E-11 Unfair or deceptive act or practice; penalties. (a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be deemed to have engaged in an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of any trade or commerce within the meaning of section 480-2. (b) Any person…

[§480E-12] Criminal penalties. Any person who violates section 480E-10 is guilty of a class C felony and, in addition to any other penalties, shall be fined $10,000. [L 2012, c 183, pt of §1]

[§480E-13] Requirements for attorneys licensed in Hawaii. An attorney licensed in the State engaged in the practice of law who performs or provides, or attempts to perform or provide, or who arranges for others to perform or provide, or who assists others to perform or provide, o…

[§480E-14] Enforcement authority. The attorney general or the executive director of the office of consumer protection is authorized to investigate reported or suspected violations of the federal mortgage assistance relief services rules, set forth in title 12 Code of Federal Regu…

§480E-2 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: "Consideration" means any payment or thing of value provided to an owner of a distressed property, including reasonable costs paid to independent third parties necessary to complete the distresse…

§480E-2.5 Mortgage rescue fraud; consumer education. The office of consumer protection shall educate consumers about abusive practices that may be committed against consumers who may be offered mortgage assistance relief services or who face property foreclosures, liens, or encum…

§480E-3 Distressed property consultant contract. (a) A distressed property consultant contract shall be in writing and shall fully disclose all services to be performed by the distressed property consultant and all terms of any agreements between the distressed property consultan…

[§480E-4] Right to cancel a distressed property consultant contract. (a) A distressed property consultant contract shall contain, immediately before the space reserved for all the distressed property owners' signatures, the following notice of right to cancel a distressed propert…

§480E-5 Cancellation of a distressed property consultant contract. (a) In addition to any other legal right to rescind a contract, any distressed property owner has the right to cancel a distressed property consultant contract, without any penalty or obligation, at any time befor…