15 U.S.C. § 298: Violations of law

Summary

Makes it a crime for any maker or dealer of gold or silver jewelry or goods, and for any officer or manager who knows about and joins in the wrongdoing, to knowingly break the rules in sections 294–300. A person convicted is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be fined up to $500, jailed for up to three months, or both. If the crime starts in one district and finishes in another, it can be tried in either place. Allows civil lawsuits too. A competitor, a customer (or a competitor of a customer), or a later buyer of an item involved in a violation of sections 294–297 can get a court order to stop more violations and sue in federal court where the defendant lives or has an agent, no matter the amount at stake, and recover damages and court costs including a reasonable lawyer’s fee. A jewelry trade association can sue the same way and recover costs if it wins, but the court may award punitive damages to the defendant if the suit was frivolous, meant to harass, or to restrain trade. If a civil case ends without a court finding the defendant broke the law, the defendant can recover defense costs and a reasonable lawyer’s fee. Federal district courts have the sole original authority to hear these civil cases.

Title 15, §298

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Criminal prosecutions; penalties; jurisdiction

Each and every person, firm, corporation, or association, being a manufacturer of or a wholesale or retail dealer in gold or silver jewelry, gold ware, silver goods, or silverware, who or which shall knowingly violate any of the provisions of sections 294 to 300 of this title, and every officer, manager, director, or managing agent of any such corporation or association having knowledge of such violation and directly participating in such violation or consenting thereto, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in any court of the United States having jurisdiction of crimes within the district in which such violation was committed or through which has been conducted the transportation of the article in respect to which such violation has been committed, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than three months, or both, at the discretion of the court. Whenever the offense is begun in one jurisdiction and completed in another it may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished in either jurisdiction in the same manner as if the offense had been actually and wholly committed therein.

(b)Suits by competitors, customers, or subsequent purchasers for injunctive relief; damages and costs

Any competitor, customer, or competitor of a customer of any person in violation of section 294, 295, 296, or 297 of this title, or any subsequent purchaser of an article of merchandise which has been the subject of a violation of section 294, 295, 296, or 297 of this title, shall be entitled to injunctive relief restraining further violation of sections 294 to 300 of this title and may sue therefor in any district court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover damages and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.

(c)Suits by jewelry trade associations for injunctive relief; damages and costs

Any duly organized and existing jewelry trade association shall be entitled to injunctive relief restraining any person in violation of section 294, 295, 296, or 297 of this title from further violation of sections 294 to 300 of this title and may sue therefor as the real party in interest in any district court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and if successful shall recover the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. If the court determines that the action has been brought frivolously, for purposes of harassment, or in implementation of any scheme in restraint of trade, it may award punitive damages to the defendant.

(d)Award of costs to defendant

Any defendant against whom a civil action is brought under the provisions of sections 294 to 300 of this title shall be entitled to recover the cost of defending the suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, in the event such action is terminated without a finding by the court that such defendant is or has been in violation of sections 294 to 300 of this title.

(e)Jurisdiction of civil actions

The district courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under the provisions of sections 294 to 300 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1970—Pub. L. 91–366 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) to (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1970 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 91–366 effective three months after July 31, 1970, see section 4 of Pub. L. 91–366, set out as a note under section 297 of this title. SeparabilityFor separability provision of Pub. L. 91–366, see section 2 of Pub. L. 91–366, set out as a note under section 297 of this title.

Construction

of 1970 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 91–366 to be held to be in addition to and not in substitution for or limitation of the provisions of any other Act of the United States, see section 3 of Pub. L. 91–366, set out as a note under section 297 of this title.

§298 Violations of Law