North Carolina General Statutes 75-42. Deceptive representation of geographical location in telephone directory, print advertisement, or on the Internet
(a) A person who is in the business of supplying a perishable product shall not misrepresent the geographical location of the business in the listing of the business in a telephone directory, other directory assistance database, or on the Internet. A person misrepresents the geographical location of the business under this subsection if the name of the business, or any other part of the listing, indicates that the business is located in a geographical area and all of the following apply:
(1) The business is not located within the geographical area indicated.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 75-42
- 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.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) The listing fails to identify the municipality and state of the business’s geographical location.
(3) A telephone call to the local telephone number listed in the telephone directory, directory assistance database, or on the Internet routinely is forwarded or transferred to a location that is outside the calling area covered by the telephone directory or directory assistance database in which the number is listed, or outside the local calling area for the local telephone number posted on the Internet.
(b) A person who is in the business of supplying a perishable product shall not misrepresent the geographical location of the business in print advertisement. A person misrepresents the geographical location of the business under this subsection if a fictitious business name, an assumed business name, or any other part of the advertisement is listed in print advertisement and all of the following apply:
(1) The name or any other part of the advertisement misrepresents the geographic location of the supplier.
(2) A telephone call to the local telephone number listed on the print advertisement routinely is forwarded or transferred to a location that is outside the calling area in which the number is listed.
(c) A person who misrepresents the geographical location of the business under subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section is not in violation of this section if a conspicuous notice in the listing or in the print advertisement states the municipality and state in which the business is located and identifies this as the location of the business.
(d) For purposes of this section, a newspaper publisher, magazine or other publication, telephone directory or directory assistance service, its officer or agent, the owner or operator of a radio or television station, or any other owner or operator of a media primarily devoted to listing phone numbers or to advertising who publishes, broadcasts, or otherwise disseminates a directory, a database, or print advertisement in good faith without knowledge of its false, deceptive, or misleading character is immune from liability under this section unless the directory service, the database service, or the advertiser is the same person as the person, firm, or corporation that has committed the act prohibited by this section.
(e) A violation of this section is an unfair trade practice under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1 (2007-545, s. 1; 2009-199, s. 1.)