815 ILCS 610/ Dance Studio Act. - Illinois Statutes

(815 ILCS 610/1) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑1)     Sec. 1. Short title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Dance Studio Act". (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/2) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑2)     Sec. 2. Definitions. (a) "Dance studio" or "studio" means any person or business entity which contracts with members of the general public to provide dance studio services.     (b) "Dance studio services" includes instruction, training or assistance in dancing, the use of studio facilities, membership in any group formed by a dance studio, and participation in dance competitions or showcases, and related travel arrangements. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/3) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑3)     Sec. 3. Applicability. (a) Governmental and not‑for‑profit entities are exempt from the requirements of this Act.     (b) The provisions of this Act are not exclusive, and do not exempt any contract for dance studio services, nor the parties thereto, from any other applicable law, nor prohibit the enforcement by any person of any right otherwise provided by law. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/4) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑4)     Sec. 4. Contract requirements: written contract. Every contract for dance studio services shall be in writing and shall be subject to this Act. All provisions, requirements and prohibitions which are mandated by this Act shall be contained in the written contract before it is signed by the customer. A copy of the written contract shall be given to the customer at the time the customer signs the contract. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/5) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑5)     Sec. 5. Contract requirements: disclosure of costs. Every contract for dance studio services shall set forth the customer's total payment obligation for services to be received pursuant to the contract and shall contain a written statement of the hourly rate charged for each type of lessons for which the customer has contracted. If the contract includes dance studio lessons which are sold at different per‑hour rates, the contract shall contain separate hourly rates for each different type of lessons sold. All other services for which the customer has contracted which are not capable of a per‑hour charge shall be set forth in writing in specific terms. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/6) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑6)     Sec. 6. Contract requirements: cancellation rights. (a) Every contract for dance studio services shall provide that such contract may be cancelled by written notice to the dance studio; that all moneys paid pursuant to such contract shall be refunded within 30 days of receipt of the cancellation notice, except that the customer is liable to the studio for any services received prior to cancellation, and except that if cancellation is sent more than 30 days after the contract is signed by the customer, the customer is further liable to the studio for 10% of the unused balance, or $50, whichever is less; and that cancellation shall be by registered or certified mail return receipt requested to the address specified in the contract.     (b) Every contract for dance studio services shall provide that if, by reason of death or disability, the customer is unable to receive all services contracted for, the customer, or his estate as the case may be, shall be relieved from the obligation of making payment for services other than those received prior to death or the onset of disability; and that if such customer has prepaid any sum for services, so much of such sum as is allocable to services not received shall be refunded within 30 days of receipt by the dance studio of reasonable evidence of such disability or death. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/7) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑7)     Sec. 7. Prohibited contract provisions.     (a) (Blank).     (b) No contract for dance studio services shall require payments or financing over a period in excess of one year from the date the contract is entered into, nor shall the term of any such contract be measured by the life of the customer. The services to be rendered under the contract may not extend over a period of more than one year from the date the parties enter into the contract. Every contract for dance studio services shall include these prohibitions in writing.     (c) No contract for dance studio services shall require or entail the execution of any note by the customer which, when separately negotiated, will cut off as to third parties any right of action or defense which the customer may have against the dance studio. No right of action or defense arising out of a contract for dance studio services which the customer has against the studio shall be cut off by assignment of the contract whether or not the assignee acquires the contract in good faith and for value. Such an assignee is not a holder in due course. (Source: P.A. 90‑645, eff. 1‑1‑99.)

(815 ILCS 610/8) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑8)     Sec. 8. General provisions. (a) All contracts for dance studio services which may be in effect between the same studio and the same customer, the terms of which overlap for any period, shall be considered as one contract for the purposes of this Act.     (b) Any waiver by the customer of the provisions of this Act shall be void and unenforceable.     (c) Any contract for dance studio services which does not comply with the applicable provisions of this Act shall be void and unenforceable.     (d) If any court finds, as a matter of law, that a contract or any provision thereof was unconscionable when made, the court may refuse to enforce the contract, enforce the remainder of the contract without the unconscionable provision, or limit the application of any unconscionable provision to avoid an unconscionable result. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/9) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑9)     Sec. 9. Prohibited acts. (a) Unfair or deceptive acts and practices are prohibited, including but not limited to: use of coercive sales tactics; misrepresentation of the quality, benefits or nature of lessons or services; misrepresentation of the qualifications of instructors; misrepresentation of the skills or abilities of any customer or potential customer; and use of lesson time for the sale of further services.     (b) Any contract for dance studio services entered into in reliance upon any false, fraudulent, or misleading information, representation, notice, or advertisement of the dance studio or any studio employee or agent shall be void and unenforceable. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/10) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑10)     Sec. 10. Enforcement by customer. Any customer injured by a violation of this Act may bring an action for the recovery of damages. Judgment may be entered for 3 times the amount at which the actual damages are assessed, plus costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/11) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑11)     Sec. 11. Enforcement by Attorney General. All remedies, penalties and authority granted to the Attorney General by the "Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act", approved July 24, 1961, as now or hereafter amended, shall be available to him for the enforcement of this Act, and Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.1, 7 and 10 of that Act are hereby incorporated by reference into this Act. In addition, in any action brought by the Attorney General to enforce this Act, the court may order that persons who incurred actual damages be awarded 3 times the amount at which actual damages are assessed. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)

(815 ILCS 610/12) (from Ch. 29, par. 50‑12)     Sec. 12. Bonding requirements. Every dance studio which requires or receives advance payment from any customer in excess of $50 or more frequently than once each month shall maintain a bond for the benefit of any person who has entered into a contract for dance studio services with the dance studio, whether or not such contract is void under this Act, and is damaged by the failure of the studio to provide the services specified in the contract or by the failure of the studio to comply with this Act. The principal sum of the bond shall be 10% of the studio's gross income from the dance studio business in this State during the studio's last preceding fiscal year, except that the principal sum of the bond shall not be less than $10,000.     The bond shall be issued by a bonding firm licensed to do business as such in this State, and 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 studio's gross income from the dance studio business in this State during the last preceding fiscal year.     (b) In lieu of furnishing such bond a dance studio may deposit with the Secretary of State a cash deposit in a like amount. This cash deposit may be satisfied by any of the following:     (1) certificates of deposit payable to the Secretary of State issued by banks doing business in this State and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;     (2) investment certificates or share accounts assigned to the Secretary of State and issued by a savings and loan association doing business in this State and insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation;     (3) bearer bonds issued by the United States government or by this State; or     (4) cash deposited with the Secretary of State.     (c) No dance studio shall engage in business in this State while it is not in compliance with the provisions of this Section. (Source: P.A. 82‑346.)