Connecticut General Statutes 12-326h – Civil actions
(a) An action may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent, restrain or enjoin a violation, or imminent threat of a violation of any of the provisions of sections 12-326a to 12-326h, inclusive. Such an action may be instituted by any person injured by any violation or threatened violation of said sections, or by the Attorney General upon the request of the Commissioner of Revenue Services. If in such action a violation or threatened violation of said sections shall be established, the court shall enjoin and restrain, or otherwise prohibit, such violation or threatened violation. In such action it shall not be necessary that actual damages to the plaintiff be alleged or proved, but where alleged and proved, the plaintiff in said action, in addition to such injunctive relief and costs of suit, including reasonable attorney’s fees, shall be entitled to recover from the defendant the actual damages sustained by such plaintiff.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 12-326h
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dealer: means any person other than a distributor who is engaged in this state in the business of selling cigarettes, including any person operating and servicing fewer than twenty-five cigarette vending machines, and any person who is engaged in the business of selling taxed tobacco products, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Distributor: means (A) any person in this state engaged in the business of manufacturing cigarettes. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- 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: means any individual, firm, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust or association, however formed. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- sell: means an act done intentionally by any person, whether done as principal, proprietor, agent, servant or employee, of transferring, offering or attempting to transfer, for consideration, including bartering or exchanging, or offering to barter and exchange. See Connecticut General Statutes 12-285
(b) In the event that no injunctive relief is sought pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, any person injured by a violation of sections 12-326a to 12-326h, inclusive, may maintain an action for damages and costs of suit in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) For the purpose of this section, evidence of any advertisement offering to sell or sale of cigarettes by any distributor or dealer at less than cost to him or evidence of any offer of a rebate in price or the giving of a rebate in price or an offer of a concession or the giving of a concession of any kind or nature whatsoever in connection with the sale of cigarettes or the inducing or attempting to induce or the procuring or the attempting to procure the purchase of cigarettes at a price less than cost to the distributor or dealer shall be prima facie evidence of intent and likelihood to injure competition and to destroy or substantially lessen competition.