North Dakota Code 47-15.1-08 – Penalties – Remedies – Lessor to preserve evidence
1. A lessor who fails to comply with this chapter is liable to the consumer for:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 47-15.1-08
- Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
a. The greater of the actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the violation or, in the case of an individual action, twenty-five percent of the total payments necessary to acquire ownership, but not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars; and
b. The costs of the action and reasonable attorney’s fees.
2. A lessor who violates section 47-15.1-07 is liable to the consumer for actual damages suffered from the violation, the costs of the action, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
3. If there is more than one lessor, liability may be imposed only on the lessor who made the disclosures. When no disclosures have been made, liability must be imposed jointly and severally on all lessors.
4. When there is more than one consumer, there may be only one recovery of damages under subsection 1.
5. Multiple violations in connection with a single consumer rental purchase agreement entitle a consumer to only one recovery under this section.
6. A consumer may not take any action to offset any amount for which a lessor is potentially liable under subsection 1 against any amount owed by the consumer unless the amount of the lessor’s liability has been determined by judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in an action to which the lessor was a party. This subsection does not bar a consumer then in default on the obligation from asserting a violation of this chapter as an original action or as a defense or counterclaim to an action brought by the lessor to collect an amount owed by the consumer.
7. In connection with any transaction under this chapter, the lessor shall preserve evidence of compliance with this chapter for not less than two years from the date of consummation of the agreement.