(1) A lessor whose violation of the provisions of this chapter causes damages to a consumer shall be subject to a judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction for actual damages, if the lessor can show by preponderance of the evidence that the damage was caused by a good faith dispute between the parties; or for actual damages or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is greater, in the event the violation is not a result of a good faith dispute between the parties.
(2) As a condition precedent to bringing any action for the collection of a penalty pursuant to this section, the consumer must give the lessor written notice of the violation or violations alleged twenty (20) days prior to filing such action.
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Terms Used In Idaho Code 28-36-111

  • Consumer: means a natural person who rents personal property under a lease-purchase agreement to be used by the consumer primarily for personal, family or household purposes. See Idaho Code 28-36-102
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Lease-purchase agreement: means an agreement by a lessor and a consumer for the use of personal property by a consumer primarily for personal, family or household purposes, for an initial period of four (4) months or less that is automatically renewable with each payment after the initial period, but does not obligate or require the consumer to continue leasing or using the property beyond the initial period, and that permits the consumer to become the owner of the property. See Idaho Code 28-36-102
  • Lessor: means a person who regularly provides the use of property through lease-purchase agreements and to whom lease payments are initially payable on the face of the lease-purchase agreement. See Idaho Code 28-36-102
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
(3) No action under the provisions of this section may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction more than one (1) year after the date of the consumer’s last payment under the lease-purchase agreement or more than one (1) year after the date of the occurrence of the violation that is the subject of the suit, whichever is later.