| (1) |
The district courts of this state have jurisdiction over any supplier as to any act or practice in this state governed by this chapter or as to any claim arising from a deceptive trade practice as defined in this chapter. |
Terms Used In Utah Code 13-11a-4
- Advertisement: means any written, oral, or graphic statement or representation made by a supplier in connection with the solicitation of business. See Utah Code 13-11a-2
- Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- 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.
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Person: means an individual, including a consumer, corporation, government, or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, unincorporated association, two or more of any of the foregoing having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Utah Code 13-11a-2
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Supplier: means a seller, lessor, assignor, offeror, broker, or other person who regularly solicits, engages in, or enforces sales transactions, whether or not he deals directly with the purchaser. See Utah Code 13-11a-2
| (2) |
| (a) |
Any person or the state may maintain an action to enjoin a continuance of any act in violation of this chapter and, if injured by the act, for the recovery of damages. If, in such action, the court finds that the defendant is violating or has violated any of the provisions of this chapter, it shall enjoin the defendant from continuance of the violation. It is not necessary that actual damages be proven. |
| (b) |
In addition to injunctive relief, the plaintiff is entitled to recover from the defendant the amount of actual damages sustained or $2,000, whichever is greater. |
| (c) |
Costs shall be allowed to the prevailing party unless the court otherwise directs. The court shall award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party. |
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| (3) |
The court may order the defendant to promulgate corrective advertising by the same media and with the same distribution and frequency as the advertising found to violate this chapter. |
| (4) |
The remedies of this section are in addition to remedies otherwise available for the same conduct under state or local law. |
| (5) |
No action for injunctive relief may be brought for a violation of this chapter unless the complaining person first gives notice of the alleged violation to the prospective defendant and provides the prospective defendant an opportunity to promulgate a correction notice by the same media as the allegedly violating advertisement. If the prospective defendant does not promulgate a correction notice within 10 days of receipt of the notice, the complaining person may file a lawsuit under this chapter. |
Enacted by Chapter 205, 1989 General Session
