California Business and Professions Code 17593 – (a) The Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city …
(a) The Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against a telephone solicitor to enforce the article and to obtain any one or more of the following remedies:
(1) An order to enjoin the violation.
Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 17593
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- City: includes city and county. See California Business and Professions Code 18
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: includes any individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation. See California Business and Professions Code 17506
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15
- telephone solicitor: means any person or entity who, on his or her own behalf or through salespersons or agents, announcing devices, or otherwise, makes or causes a telephone call to be made to a California telephone number that does any of the following:
California Business and Professions Code 17592
(2) A civil penalty of up to the penalty amount that the Federal Trade Commission may seek pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subsection (m) of Section 45 of Title 15 of the United States Code as specified in Section 1.98 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) Any other relief that the court deems proper.
(b) Any person who has received a telephone solicitation that is prohibited by Section 17592, or whose telephone number was used in violation of Section 17591, may bring a civil action in small claims court for an injunction or order to prevent further violations. If a person obtains an injunction or order under this subdivision and service of the injunction or order is properly effected, a person who thereafter receives further solicitations in violation of the injunction or order within 30 days after service of the initial injunction or order, may file a subsequent action in small claims court seeking enforcement of the injunction or order and a civil penalty to be awarded to the person in an amount up to one thousand dollars ($1,000). For purposes of this subdivision, a person’s claims may not be aggregated to establish jurisdiction in a court other than small claims court. For purposes of this subdivision, a defendant is not required to personally appear, but may appear by affidavit or by written instrument.
(c) The rights, remedies, and penalties established by this article are in addition to the rights, remedies, or penalties established under other laws.
(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to any action brought under this article that the violation was accidental and in violation of the telephone solicitor’s policies and procedures and telemarketer instruction and training.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 17. Effective January 1, 2005.)