Sen. Michael Noland

Filed: 2/28/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1295

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1295 by replacing
3the title with the following:
 
4    "AN ACT concerning consumer contract protection in
5Illinois."; and
 
6by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
7following:
 
8    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
9Consumer Contract Plain Language Act.
 
10    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
11    "Consumer" means an individual who borrows, buys, or leases
12services or products under a consumer contract.
13    "Consumer contract" or "contract" means a written
14agreement between a consumer and a party, acting in the usual

 

 

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1course of business, for products or services made or performed
2for primarily personal, family, or household purposes. A
3"consumer contract" includes, but is not limited to, standard
4form contracts, consumer agreements, forms, or terms.
5    "Covered entity" means a person who utilizes consumer
6contracts in the usual course of business.
7    "Transaction" means a business transaction that occurs
8between a consumer and a covered entity for the exchange of
9products or services through the use of a consumer contract.
 
10    Section 10. Scope and construction.
11    (a) This Act applies to all consumer contracts, except that
12this Act does not apply to format or language required by State
13or federal law or regulation.
14    (b) This Act is to be liberally construed to further its
15purposes, which are to ensure that consumer contracts are
16written in a simple format and plain language and to protect
17consumers against unfair or deceptive form contracts.
 
18    Section 15. Plain language. A contract entered into on or
19after the effective date of this Act shall be written in a
20simple, clear, understandable, and easily readable manner. In
21determining whether a contract as a whole has been written in a
22simple, clear, understandable, and easily readable manner, a
23court, the Attorney General, or proper regulatory agency, shall
24apply the provisions of Section 20.
 

 

 

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

 

 

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1    2,000 words; and
2        (9) conditions and exceptions to the main promise of
3    the contract are given prominence equal to that given to
4    the main promise and are in at least 10-point bold type.
5    (b) A contract may not be simple, clear, understandable, or
6easily readable if it contains one or more the following:
7        (1) cross references that are confusing;
8        (2) references to terms not included in the consumer
9    contract that are necessary to understand its material
10    provisions;
11        (3) sentences that are of greater length than
12    necessary;
13        (4) sentences that contain double negatives and
14    exceptions to exceptions;
15        (5) sentences and sections that are in a confusing or
16    illogical order;
17        (6) the use of words with obsolete meanings or words
18    that differ in their legal meaning from their common,
19    ordinary meaning; and
20        (7) frequent use of Old English and Middle English
21    words and Latin and French phrases.
 
22    Section 25. Content of contracts. A covered entity shall
23include a clear and conspicuous description of the terms of the
24contract, including the total cost of all fees and other
25charges or waiver of rights in connection with the transaction,

 

 

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1in English and in the language in which the transaction was
2conducted. No consumer contract may contain a waiver of any
3rights granted under this Act.
 
4    Section 30. Enforcement. The Illinois Attorney General may
5bring an action to enforce this Act and to obtain injunctive
6relief in any court of competent jurisdiction not later than 5
7years after the date of the violation. Any person or
8organization, whether or not a party to a covered contract, and
9any law enforcement official may bring an action to enjoin the
10use of a contract that violates this Act.
 
11    Section 35. Safe harbor. There shall be no liability under
12Section 40 if any of the following occurs:
13        (1) the consumer wrote the contract or the part of it
14    that violates this Act; or
15        (2) the creditor, seller, or lessor made a good faith
16    and reasonable effort to comply with this Act.
 
17    Section 40. Penalties. A person who knowingly violates the
18requirements of Section 20 shall be liable to the consumer for
19the following:
20        (1) compensation in an amount equal to the value of any
21    actual loss caused by the violation of this Act;
22        (2) statutory damages of the lesser of $1,000 or the
23    total amount of the contract;

 

 

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1        (3) court costs;
2        (4) reasonable attorney's fees; and
3        (5) any equitable and other relief ordered by the
4    court.
 
5    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
6severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.".