Sen. Michael Noland

Filed: 5/8/2012

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1135

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1135 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Consumer Contract Plain Language Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Consumer" means an individual who borrows, buys, or leases
8services or products under a consumer contract.
9    "Consumer contract" or "contract" means a written
10agreement between a consumer and a party, acting in the usual
11course of business, for products or services made or performed
12for primarily personal, family, or household purposes. A
13"consumer contract" includes, but is not limited to, standard
14form contracts, consumer agreements, forms, or terms.
15    "Covered entity" means a person who utilizes consumer
16contracts in the usual course of business.

 

 

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1    "Transaction" means a business transaction that occurs
2between a consumer and a covered entity for the exchange of
3products or services through the use of a consumer contract.
 
4    Section 10. Scope and construction.
5    (a) This Act applies to all consumer contracts, except that
6this Act does not apply to format or language required by State
7or federal law or regulation.
8    (b) This Act is to be liberally construed to further its
9purposes, which are to ensure that consumer contracts are
10written in a simple format and plain language and to protect
11consumers against unfair or deceptive form contracts.
 
12    Section 15. Plain language. A contract entered into on or
13after the effective date of this Act shall be written in a
14simple, clear, understandable, and easily readable manner. In
15determining whether a contract as a whole has been written in a
16simple, clear, understandable, and easily readable manner, a
17court, the Attorney General, or proper regulatory agency, shall
18apply the provisions of Section 20.
 
19    Section 20. Requirements for contracts.
20    (a) For a contract to be simple, clear, understandable, and
21easily readable, it must be written in plain language. A
22contract is written in plain language if:
23        (1) it is written in a clear and coherent manner using

 

 

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1    words with common and everyday meanings; use of technical
2    terms or words of art is not, however, in and of itself a
3    violation of this Act;
4        (2) it is appropriately divided and captioned by its
5    various sections;
6        (3) it uses type of readable size and no less than
7    10-point font;
8        (4) it uses layout and spacing that separate the lines,
9    paragraphs, and sections of the contract from each other
10    and from the borders of the paper or medium upon which it
11    is displayed;
12        (5) it uses simple and active verb forms;
13        (6) it uses ink that contrasts with the paper or medium
14    upon which it is displayed;
15        (7) it does not contain a provision that permits the
16    unilateral modification of the contract by the covered
17    entity to the disadvantage of the consumer without explicit
18    consumer consent after the execution of the contract;
19        (8) it uses a table of contents or alphabetical index
20    and definitional glossary for all contracts with more than
21    2,000 words; and
22        (9) conditions and exceptions to the main promise of
23    the contract are given prominence equal to that given to
24    the main promise and are in at least 10-point bold type.
25    (b) A contract may not be simple, clear, understandable, or
26easily readable if it contains one or more the following:

 

 

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1        (1) cross references that are confusing;
2        (2) references to terms not included in the consumer
3    contract that are necessary to understand its material
4    provisions;
5        (3) sentences that are of greater length than
6    necessary;
7        (4) sentences that contain double negatives and
8    exceptions to exceptions;
9        (5) sentences and sections that are in a confusing or
10    illogical order;
11        (6) the use of words with obsolete meanings or words
12    that differ in their legal meaning from their common,
13    ordinary meaning; and
14        (7) frequent use of Old English and Middle English
15    words and Latin and French phrases.
 
16    Section 25. Content of contracts. A covered entity shall
17include a clear and conspicuous description of the terms of the
18contract, including the total cost of all fees and other
19charges or waiver of rights in connection with the transaction,
20in English and in the language in which the transaction was
21conducted. No consumer contract may contain a waiver of any
22rights granted under this Act.
 
23    Section 30. Enforcement. The Illinois Attorney General may
24bring an action to enforce this Act and to obtain injunctive

 

 

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1relief in any court of competent jurisdiction not later than 5
2years after the date of the violation. Any person or
3organization, whether or not a party to a covered contract, and
4any law enforcement official may bring an action to enjoin the
5use of a contract that violates this Act.
 
6    Section 35. Safe harbor. There shall be no liability under
7Section 40 if any of the following occurs:
8        (1) the consumer wrote the contract or the part of it
9    that violates this Act; or
10        (2) the creditor, seller, or lessor made a good faith
11    and reasonable effort to comply with this Act.
 
12    Section 40. Penalties. A person who knowingly violates the
13requirements of Section 20 shall be liable to the consumer for
14the following:
15        (1) compensation in an amount equal to the value of any
16    actual loss caused by the violation of this Act;
17        (2) statutory damages of the lesser of $1000 or the
18    total amount of the contract;
19        (3) court costs;
20        (4) reasonable attorney's fees; and
21        (5) any equitable and other relief ordered by the
22    court.
 
23    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are

 

 

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1severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.".