Montana Code 50-65-110. Penalties
50-65-110. Penalties. (1) A manufacturer, wholesale dealer, agent, or any other person or entity that knowingly sells or offers to sell cigarettes, other than through retail sale, in violation of 50-65-102, for a first offense, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each sale of the cigarettes and, for a subsequent offense, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each sale of the cigarettes. However, the penalty may not exceed $100,000 during any 30-day period.
Terms Used In Montana Code 50-65-110
- Agent: means a person authorized by the department of revenue to purchase and affix stamps on packages of cigarettes. See Montana Code 50-65-101
- Cigarette: means any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, irrespective of size or shape and whether or not the tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or mixed with any other ingredient, the wrapper or cover of which is made of nontobacco paper or any other substance or material except tobacco. See Montana Code 50-65-101
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
- Manufacturer: means :
(a)an entity that manufactures or otherwise produces cigarettes or causes cigarettes that the manufacturer intends to be sold in this state to be manufactured or produced anywhere, including cigarettes intended to be sold in the United States through an importer;
(b)the first purchaser anywhere that intends to resell in the United States cigarettes manufactured anywhere that the original manufacturer or maker does not intend to be sold in the United States; or
(c)an entity that becomes a successor of an entity described in subsections (3)(a) and (3)(b). See Montana Code 50-65-101
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Retail dealer: means a person, other than a manufacturer or wholesale dealer, engaged in selling cigarettes or tobacco products. See Montana Code 50-65-101
- Sale: means any transfer of title of cigarettes for consideration, exchange, barter, gift, offer for sale, or distribution, in any manner or by any means. See Montana Code 50-65-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Wholesale dealer: means a person who sells cigarettes or tobacco products to retail dealers or other persons for purposes of resale and a person who owns, operates, or maintains one or more cigarette or tobacco product vending machines in, at, or upon premises owned or occupied by any other person. See Montana Code 50-65-101
(2)(a) A retail dealer who knowingly sells cigarettes in violation of 50-65-102:
(i)for a first offense, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100 and, for a subsequent offense, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $400 for each sale or offer for sale of the cigarettes if the total number of cigarettes sold or offered for sale does not exceed 1,000 cigarettes; or
(ii)for a first offense, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 and, for a subsequent offense, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each sale or offer for sale of the cigarettes if the total number of cigarettes sold or offered for sale exceeds 1,000 cigarettes.
(b)The total penalty against a retail dealer provided in this subsection (2) may not exceed $25,000 during a 30-day period.
(3)In addition to any penalty prescribed by law, any corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, limited liability company, limited partnership, or association engaged in the manufacture of cigarettes that knowingly makes a false certification pursuant to 50-65-103 is, for a first offense, subject to a civil penalty of at least $75,000 and, for a subsequent offense, a civil penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each false certification.
(4)A person violating any other provision in this chapter is subject to a civil penalty for a first offense not to exceed $1,000 and, for a subsequent offense, a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation.
(5)Any cigarettes that have been sold or offered for sale that do not comply with the performance standard required by 50-65-102 are subject to forfeiture under 16-11-159 if prior to the destruction of any cigarette seized pursuant to these provisions, the true holder of the trademark rights in the cigarette brand is permitted to inspect the cigarette.
(6)In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the department of justice may file an action in the appropriate district court for a violation of this chapter, including petitioning for injunctive relief or to recover any costs or damages suffered by the state because of a violation of this chapter, including enforcement costs related to the specific violation and attorney fees. Each violation of this chapter or of rules adopted under this chapter constitutes a separate civil violation for which the department of justice may obtain relief.