Section 13-301 - Unfair or deceptive trade practices defined. - Maryland Statutes

§ 13-301. Unfair or deceptive trade practices defined.
 

Unfair or deceptive trade practices include any: 

(1) False, falsely disparaging, or misleading oral or written statement, visual description, or other representation of any kind which has the capacity, tendency, or effect of deceiving or misleading consumers; 

(2) Representation that: 

(i) Consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services have a sponsorship, approval, accessory, characteristic, ingredient, use, benefit, or quantity which they do not have; 

(ii) A merchant has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which he does not have; 

(iii) Deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, or secondhand consumer goods are original or new; or 

(iv) Consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services are of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model which they are not; 

(3) Failure to state a material fact if the failure deceives or tends to deceive; 

(4) Disparagement of the goods, realty, services, or business of another by a false or misleading representation of a material fact; 

(5) Advertisement or offer of consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services: 

(i) Without intent to sell, lease, or rent them as advertised or offered; or 

(ii) With intent not to supply reasonably expected public demand, unless the advertisement or offer discloses a limitation of quantity or other qualifying condition; 

(6) False or misleading representation of fact which concerns: 

(i) The reason for or the existence or amount of a price reduction; or 

(ii) A price in comparison to a price of a competitor or to one's own price at a past or future time; 

(7) Knowingly false statement that a service, replacement, or repair is needed; 

(8) False statement which concerns the reason for offering or supplying consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services at sale or discount prices; 

(9) Deception, fraud, false pretense, false premise, misrepresentation, or knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with the intent that a consumer rely on the same in connection with: 

(i) The promotion or sale of any consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer service; 

(ii) A contract or other agreement for the evaluation, perfection, marketing, brokering or promotion of an invention; or 

(iii) The subsequent performance of a merchant with respect to an agreement of sale, lease, or rental; 

(10) Solicitations of sales or services over the telephone without first clearly, affirmatively, and expressly stating: 

(i) The solicitor's name and the trade name of a person represented by the solicitor; 

(ii) The purpose of the telephone conversation; and 

(iii) The kind of merchandise, real property, intangibles, or service solicited; 

(11) Use of any plan or scheme in soliciting sales or services over the telephone that misrepresents the solicitor's true status or mission; 

(12) Use of a contract related to a consumer transaction which contains a confessed judgment clause that waives the consumer's right to assert a legal defense to an action; 

(13) Use by a seller, who is in the business of selling consumer realty, of a contract related to the sale of single family residential consumer realty, including condominiums and town houses, that contains a clause limiting or precluding the buyer's right to obtain consequential damages as a result of the seller's breach or cancellation of the contract; 

(14) Violation of a provision of: 

(i) This title; 

(ii) An order of the Attorney General or agreement of a party relating to unit pricing under Title 14, Subtitle 1 of this article; 

(iii) Title 14, Subtitle 2 of this article, the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act; 

(iv) Title 14, Subtitle 3 of this article, the Maryland Door-to-Door Sales Act; 

(v) Title 14, Subtitle 9 of this article, Kosher Products; 

(vi) Title 14, Subtitle 10 of this article, Automotive Repair Facilities; 

(vii) Section 14-1302 of this article; 

(viii) Title 14, Subtitle 11 of this article, Maryland Layaway Sales Act; 

(ix) Section 22-415 of the Transportation Article; 

(x) Title 14, Subtitle 20 of this article; 

(xi) Title 14, Subtitle 15 of this article, the Automotive Warranty Enforcement Act; 

(xii) Title 14, Subtitle 21 of this article; 

(xiii) Section 18-107 of the Transportation Article; 

(xiv) Title 14, Subtitle 22 of this article, the Maryland Telephone Solicitations Act; 

(xv) Title 14, Subtitle 23 of this article, the Automotive Crash Parts Act; 

(xvi) Title 10, Subtitle 6 of the Real Property Article; 

(xvii) Title 14, Subtitle 25 of this article, the Hearing Aid Sales Act; 

(xviii) Title 14, Subtitle 26 of this article, the Maryland Door-to-Door Solicitations Act; 

(xix) Title 14, Subtitle 31 of this article, the Maryland Household Goods Movers Act;  

(xx) Title 14, Subtitle 32 of this article, the Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act; 

(xxi) Title 14, Subtitle 34 of this article, the Social Security Number Privacy Act; 

(xxii) Title 14, Subtitle 37 of this article, the Online Child Safety Act; 

(xxiii) Section 14-1319, § 14-1320, or § 14-1322 of this article; 

(xxiv) Section 7-304 of the Criminal Law Article; 

(xxv) Title 7, Subtitle 3 of the Real Property Article, the Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act; 

(xxvi) Title 6, Subtitle 13 of the Environment Article; or 

(xxvii) Section 7-405(e)(2)(ii) of the Health Occupations Article; or 

(15) Act or omission that relates to a residential building and that is chargeable as a misdemeanor under or otherwise violates a provision of the Energy Conservation Building Standards Act, Title 7, Subtitle 4 of the Public Utilities Article. 
 

[An. Code 1957, art. 83, § 20D; 1975, ch. 49, § 3; ch. 431, § 1; 1976, chs. 507, 907; 1977, ch. 362; ch. 376, § 2; 1978, ch. 673, § 1; 1979, chs. 65, 536; 1981, chs. 388, 502; 1985, ch. 710; 1986, ch. 506; 1987, chs. 577, 650; 1988, ch. 6, § 1; chs. 268, 269, 588, 589, 775; 1990, ch. 223; 1992, chs. 342, 537, 642; 1998, ch. 653; 1999, ch. 34, § 1; 2002, ch. 19, § 9; ch. 543, § 1; 2003, ch. 21, § 1; 2004, chs. 25, 437; 2005, ch. 25, § 1; chs. 456, 521; 2006, ch. 491; 2008, chs. 5, 6, 36, 483; ch 532, § 2; 2009, chs. 60, 557; 2010, chs. 52, 89, 90.]