SECTIONS 1812.50-1812.69 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 1812.50-1812.69

1812.50. (a) The Legislature finds that there exists in connection
with a substantial number of contracts for dance studio lessons and
other services, sales practices, and business and financing methods
which have worked a fraud, deceit, imposition, and financial hardship
upon the people of this state; that existing legal remedies are
inadequate to correct these abuses; that the dance studio industry
has a significant impact upon the economy and well-being of this
state and its local communities; and that the provisions of this
title relating to these contracts are necessary for the public
welfare.
(b) The Legislature declares that the purpose of this title is to
safeguard the public against fraud, deceit, imposition, and financial
hardship, and to foster and encourage competition, fair dealing, and
prosperity in the field of dance studio lessons and other services
by prohibiting or restricting false or misleading advertising,
onerous contract terms, harmful financial practices, and other
unfair, dishonest, deceptive, destructive, unscrupulous, fraudulent,
and discriminatory practices by which the public has been injured in
connection with contracts for dance studio lessons and other
services.

1812.51. As used in this title, "contract for dance studio lessons
and other services" means a contract for instruction in ballroom or
other types of dancing, and includes lessons and other services,
whether given to students individually or in groups. This title does
not include contracts for professional services rendered or furnished
by a person licensed under Division 2 (commencing with Section 500)
of the Business and Professions Code, or contracts for instruction at
schools operating pursuant to the Education Code.

1812.52. Every contract for dance studio lessons and other services
shall be in writing and shall be subject to this title. A copy of
the written contract shall be given to the customer at the time he or
she signs the contract.

1812.53. (a) No contract for dance studio lessons and other
services shall require payments or financing by the buyer over a
period in excess of one year from the date the contract is entered
into, nor shall the term of any contract be measured by the life of
the buyer. However, the lessons and other services to be rendered to
the buyer under the contract may extend over a period not to exceed
seven years from the date the contract is entered into.
(b) All contracts for dance studio lessons and other services that
may be in effect between the same seller and the same buyer, the
terms of which overlap for any period, shall be considered as one
contract for the purposes of this title.

1812.54. (a) Every contract for dance studio lessons and other
services shall provide that performance of the agreed-upon lessons
will begin within six months from the date the contract is entered
into.
(b) A contract for dance studio lessons and other services may be
canceled by the student at any time provided he or she gives written
notice to the dance studio at the address specified in the contract.
When a contract for dance studio lessons and other services is
canceled the dance studio shall calculate the refund on the contract,
if any, on a pro rata basis. The dance studio shall refund any
moneys owed to the student within 10 days of receiving the
cancellation notice, unless the student owes the dance studio money
for studio lessons or other services received prior to the
cancellation, in which case any moneys owed the dance studio shall be
deducted by the dance studio from the refund owed to the student and
the balance, if any, shall be refunded as specified above. A dance
studio shall not charge a cancellation fee, or other fee, for
cancellation of the contract by the student.
(c) Every contract for dance studio lessons and other services
shall contain a written statement of the hourly rate charged for each
type of lesson for which the student has contracted. If the contract
includes dance studio lessons that are sold at different per-hour
rates, the contract shall contain separate hourly rates for each
different type of lesson sold. All other services for which the
student has contracted that are not capable of a per-hour charge
shall be set forth in writing in specific terms. The statement shall
be contained in the dance studio contract before the contract is
signed by the buyer.
(d) Every dance studio subject to Sections 1812.64 and 1812.65
shall include in every contract for dance studio lessons or other
services a statement that the studio is bonded and that information
concerning the bond may be obtained by writing to the office of the
Secretary of State.

1812.55. No contract for dance studio lessons and other services
shall require or entail the execution of any note or series of notes
by the buyer which, when separately negotiated, will cut off as to
third parties any right of action or defense which the buyer may have
against the seller.

1812.56. No right of action or defense arising out of a contract
for dance studio lessons and other services which the buyer has
against the seller, and which would be cut off by assignment, shall
be cut off by assignment of the contract to any third party whether
or not he or she acquires the contract in good faith and for value
unless the assignee gives notice of the assignment to the buyer as
provided in this section and, within 30 days of the mailing of
notice, receives no written notice of the facts giving rise to the
claim or defense of the buyer. A notice of assignment shall be in
writing addressed to the buyer at the address shown on the contract
and shall identify the contract and inform the buyer that he or she
shall, within 30 days of the date of mailing of the notice, notify
the assignee in writing of any facts giving rise to a claim or
defense which he or she may have. The notice of assignment shall
state the name of the seller and buyer, a description of the lessons
and other services, the contract balance, and the number and amount
of the installments.

1812.57. (a) Every contract for dance studio lessons and other
services shall contain a clause providing that if, by reason of death
or disability, the person agreeing to receive lessons and other
services is unable to receive all lessons and other services for
which he or she has contracted, the person and his or her estate
shall be relieved from the obligation of making payment for lessons
and other services other than those received prior to death or the
onset of disability, and that if the buyer has prepaid any sum for
lessons and other services so much of that sum as is allocable to
lessons and other services he or she has not taken shall be promptly
refunded to the buyer or his or her representative.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any contract to the
contrary, whenever the contract price is payable in installments and
the buyer is relieved from making further payments or entitled to a
refund under this section, the buyer shall be entitled to receive a
refund or refund credit of so much of the cash price as is allocable
to the lessons or other services not actually received by the buyer.
The refund of the finance charge shall be computed according to the
"sum of the balances method," also known as the "Rule of 78".

1812.58. The provisions of this title are not exclusive and do not
relieve the parties or the contracts subject thereto from compliance
with all other applicable provisions of law.

1812.59. Any contract for dance studio lessons and other services
which does not comply with the applicable provisions of this title
shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.

1812.60. Any contract for dance studio lessons and other services
entered into in reliance upon any willful and false, fraudulent, or
misleading information, representation, notice, or advertisement of
the seller shall be void and unenforceable.

1812.61. Any waiver of the buyer of the provisions of this title
shall be deemed contrary to public policy and shall be void and
unenforceable.

1812.62. (a) Any buyer injured by a violation of this title may
bring an action for the recovery of damages. Judgment may be entered
for three times the amount at which the actual damages are assessed
plus reasonable attorney fees.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this title, any failure to
comply with any provision of this title may be corrected within 30
days after the execution of the contract by the buyer, and, if so
corrected, neither the seller nor the holder shall be subject to any
penalty under this title, provided that any correction which
increases any monthly payment, the number of payments, or the total
amount due, must be concurred in, in writing, by the buyer. "Holder"
includes the seller who acquires the contract, or, if the contract is
purchased by a financing agency or other assignee, the financing
agency or other assignee.

1812.63. Any person who violates any provision of this title
relating to dance studio contracts is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any
superior court of this state has jurisdiction in equity to restrain
and enjoin the violation of any of the provisions of this title
relating to dance studio contracts.
The duty to institute actions for violation of those provisions of
this title, including equity proceedings to restrain and enjoin
violations, is hereby vested in the Attorney General, district
attorneys, and city attorneys. The Attorney General, any district
attorney, or any city attorney may prosecute misdemeanor actions or
institute equity proceedings, or both.
This section shall not be deemed to prohibit the enforcement by
any person of any right provided by this or any other law.

1812.64. Every dance studio shall maintain a bond issued by a
surety company admitted to do business in this state. The principal
sum of the bond shall be 25 percent of the dance studio's gross
income from the studio business in this state during the studio's
last fiscal year, except that the principal sum of the bond shall not
be less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in the first or
any subsequent year of operation.
A copy of the bond shall be filed with the Secretary of State,
together with a declaration under penalty of perjury signed by the
owner of the studio stating the dance studio's gross income from the
dance studio business in this state during the last fiscal year. The
information contained in the declaration shall not be subject to
public inspection. If the person in whose name the bond is issued
severs his or her relationship with the bonded dance studio, the new
owner shall, as a condition of doing business, notify the Secretary
of State of the change of ownership and of proof of compliance with
Sections 1812.64 and 1812.65.

1812.65. The bond required by Section 1812.64 shall be in favor of
the State of California for the benefit of any person who, after
entering into a contract for dance studio lessons and other services
with the dance studio, is damaged by fraud or dishonesty or failure
to provide the services of the studio in performance of the contract.

1812.67. (a) Sections 1812.64 and 1812.65 do not apply to any dance
studio which requires or receives less than fifty dollars ($50) in
advance payments from or on behalf of each student for dance studio
lessons or other services which are to be rendered by the studio in
the future and such advance payments are not required or received by
the studio from each student more frequently than once every 30 days.
(b) Sections 1812.53, 1812.54, 1812.64, and 1812.65 do not apply
to a dance studio which only offers instruction in ballet, modern,
jazz, tap dance, or any combination thereof, to persons under 21
years of age pursuant to a contract for dance studio lessons that
provides all of the following: (1) a total payment of less than five
hundred dollars ($500), (2) that all agreed-upon lessons will be
offered within four months from the date the contract is entered, and
(3) that the contract may be canceled and all money paid for
instruction not yet received will be refunded within 10 days of
cancellation, if the dance student cancels within three days after
receiving the first lesson, or if the dance student cancels at any
time after moving his or her residence to a location more than 15
miles from the location of the dance studio.
(c) Sections 1812.53, 1812.54, 1812.64, and 1812.65 do not apply
to any organization that has qualified for a tax exemption under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and which receives a
direct grant of funds from the California Arts Council.

1812.68. If any provision of this title or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is held unconstitutional, the
remainder of the title and the application of such provision to other
persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

1812.69. (a) The Secretary of State shall enforce the provisions of
this title that govern the filing and maintenance of bonds.
(b) The Secretary of State shall charge a filing fee not to exceed
the cost of filing the bond.