Deceptive Business Practices
Gen. Bus. Law § 349 — unfair, deceptive or abusive practices are unlawful, and an injured person recovers at least $50
Unfair, deceptive or abusive. Unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices in any business, trade or commerce, or in furnishing any service, in New York are unlawful. A practice is unfair when it causes or is likely to cause substantial injury that is not reasonably avoidable and not outweighed by benefits to consumers or competition. It is abusive when it materially interferes with understanding a term of a product or service, or takes unreasonable advantage of a person's lack of understanding, inability to protect their interests, or reasonable reliance.
$50 or the actual damages. A person injured by a deceptive act or practice may sue to stop it, and to recover actual damages or fifty dollars, whichever is greater. If the business acted willfully or knowingly, the court may raise the damages to three times the actual damages, up to $1,000, and it may award reasonable attorney's fees to a winning plaintiff.
The attorney general can also sue to stop such practices and recover what was taken, after giving the business notice and ten calendar days to show why not, unless that would not be in the public interest.
False advertising in business or in furnishing a service is unlawful under the next section. A broadcaster or publisher that only runs someone else's advertisement is not covered.
Sources for this section (2)
- Gen. Bus. Law § 349 — Unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices unlawful
- Gen. Bus. Law § 350 — False advertising unlawful
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.