Existing law defines activities that constitute deceptive trade practices and provides for the imposition of civil and criminal penalties against persons who engage in deceptive trade practices. (Chapter 598 of NRS) Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to obtain a temporary restraining order, a preliminary or permanent injunction or other relief, including, without limitation, the recovery of a civil penalty, disgorgement, restitution or the recovery of damages by bringing an action in the name of the State against a person the Attorney General has reason to believe has engaged or is engaging in a deceptive trade practice. (NRS 598.0963) Section 3 of this bill clarifies that such an action may be brought by the Attorney General on behalf of: (1) the State or its agencies, political subdivisions, districts or municipal corporations; or (2) the people of the State. Existing law: (1) creates the Bureau of Consumer Protection within the Office of the Attorney General; and (2) provides that the executive head of the Bureau of Consumer Protection is the Consumer's Advocate, who may generally exercise the power of the Attorney General in areas of consumer protection and enforcement. (NRS 228.310, 228.380) Existing law further authorizes the Director of the Department of Business and Industry to impose certain penalties, including an administrative fine, upon a person who has engaged in a deceptive trade practice after a hearing that is initiated by the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs or Attorney General serving an order upon such person. (NRS 598.0971) Section 4 of this bill: (1) authorizes the Consumer's Advocate or his or her designee to also conduct such a hearing and impose certain penalties; and (2) increases the administrative fine from $1,000 or treble the amount of restitution ordered, whichever is greater, to $15,000 for each violation or treble the amount of restitution ordered, whichever is greater. Sections 5 and 6 of this bill make conforming changes to authorize the Consumer's Advocate or his or her designee to impose certain penalties in a hearing conducted by the Consumer's Advocate or his or her designee relating to a deceptive trade practice directed towards an elderly person, a person with a disability or a minor person. Existing law provides that if a person fails to comply with an order issued by the Director of the Department of Business and Industry or his or her designee at an administrative hearing, the Attorney General or the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs or Director, through the Attorney General, may cause an action to be instituted in district court. If the court finds that the person failed to comply with the order, the court is: (1) required to issue an order enforcing the Director's order; and (2) authorized to order certain additional sanctions against the person who engaged in the deceptive trade practice, including a penalty of not more than $5,000 for each act amounting to a failure to comply with the original order, an order to cease and desist doing business within the State and injunctive relief. (NRS 598.0971) Existing law also authorizes these sanctions in a circumstance where a person who has engaged or is engaging in a deceptive trade practice fails to comply with an assurance of discontinuance of any deceptive trade practice. Section 4 eliminates the authority of the court to impose these additional sanctions in a circumstance where a person who engaged in a deceptive trade practice fails to comply with the order issued at an administrative hearing. Section 7 of this bill makes a technical change to continue to allow these additional sanctions where a person who has engaged or is engaging in a deceptive trade practice fails to comply with an assurance of discontinuance of any deceptive trade practice. Under existing law, in addition to certain criminal penalties, if a natural person, firm, or any officer or managing agent of any corporation or association knowingly and willfully engages in certain deceptive trade practices, the court may require the natural person, firm or officer or managing agent of the corporation or association to pay to the aggrieved party damages on all profits derived from the knowing and willful engagement in the deceptive trade practice. (NRS 598.0999) Section 8 of this bill provides instead that the court may require payment to the aggrieved party of damages on all gross revenue derived from the knowing and willful engagement in the deceptive trade practice. Section 8 defines “gross revenue” to mean the total revenues derived from the knowing and willful engagement in a deceptive trade practice without deducting any expenses or losses. Section 1 of this bill defines the term “Consumer's Advocate” for purposes of the provisions of law relating to deceptive trade practices and section 2 of this bill applies this definition to the provisions of existing law governing deceptive trade practices. The Nevada Unfair Trade Practice Act generally prohibits certain unfair trade activities, including, without limitation, price fixing, division of markets, allocation of customers, tying arrangements and monopolization and authorizes the Attorney General to bring proceedings for suspected violations. (Chapter 598A of NRS) Pursuant to the Act, the Attorney General is required to institute civil and criminal proceedings on behalf of the State, its agencies, political subdivisions, districts, municipal corporations or residents of this State. (NRS 598A.070) The Act also authorizes certain other persons and entities to bring a civil action related to unfair trade activities. (NRS 598A.200, 598A.210) The Act sets forth the statute of limitations for bringing any such action. (NRS 598A.220) Sections 9 and 10 of this bill eliminate the statute of limitations for the Attorney General to commence a civil action for an unfair trade practice, which is consistent with the authority of the Attorney General to commence a civil action for most deceptive trade practices. Existing law creates the Consumer Protection Legal Account in the Office of the Attorney General and provides that the money remains in the Legal Account at the end of the fiscal year and does not revert to the State General Fund. (NRS 228.333) Existing law also creates the Consumer Protection Administrative Account in the Bureau of Consumer Protection and: (1) requires the deposit of certain money from settlements and litigation into the Administrative Account; and (2) provides that any balance in excess of $500,000 in the Administrative Account on June 30 and December 31 of each year, and at any other time in the discretion of the Consumer's Advocate, reverts to the Legal Account. (NRS 228.332) Existing law requires the Attorney General to allocate, in certain percentages, the money in the Legal Account to: (1) the Office of the Attorney General or the Consumer's Advocate to be used for consumer protection and efforts to prevent fraud, including, without limitation, education, investigation, enforcement and litigation; and (2) certain legal aid organizations to be used for consumer protection and efforts to prevent fraud. (NRS 228.334) Section 11 of this bill provides that the percentage of money allocated from the Legal Account to the Office of the Attorney General or the Consumer's Advocate may be used to pay for: (1) necessary staff employed for the Consumer's Advocate to carry out consumer protection and efforts to prevent fraud; (2) necessary staff for the Office of the Attorney General to carry out consumer protection and efforts to prevent fraud; and (3) any other additional purpose relating to consumer protection and efforts to prevent fraud. Section 11 also eliminates the limitation that the money in the Legal Account must exceed 120 days of operating costs for certain staff before the Office of the Attorney General or Consumer's Advocate may use money in the Legal Account for additional purposes relating to consumer protection and efforts to prevent fraud. Existing law authorizes the Consumer's Advocate to have access to all records in the possession of any agency, board or commission of this State that he or she determines are necessary to exercise his or her powers relating to consumer protection. (NRS 228.380) Section 12 of this bill clarifies that the Consumer's Advocate does not have possession of such records until he or she receives the record from the agency, board or commission.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 598.0903, 598.0963, 598.0971, 598.0973, 598.09735, 598.0979, 598.0999, 598A.220, 11.245, 228.334, 228.380
BDR: 598.0903, 598.0963, 598.0971, 598.0973, 598.09735, 598.0979, 598.0999, 598A.220, 11.245, 228.334, 228.380