(1) A person shall not reference the trade name or trademark of a lender or a trade name or trademark confusingly similar to that of a lender in a solicitation for the offering of services or products without the consent of the lender unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuously states in boldfaced type on the front page of the correspondence containing the solicitation:
The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the solicitation;
That the person making the solicitation is not affiliated with the lender;(c) That the solicitation is not authorized or sponsored by the lender; and (d) That the loan information referenced was not provided by the lender.
A person shall not reference a loan number, loan amount, or other specific loan information that is not publicly available in a solicitation for the purchase of services or products; except that this prohibition shall not apply to communications by a lender or its affiliates with a current customer of the lender or with a person who was a customer of the lender.
(a) A person shall not reference a loan number, loan amount, or other specific loan information that is publicly available in a solicitation for the purchase of services or products unless the communication clearly and conspicuously states in bold-faced type on the front page of the correspondence containing the solicitation:
The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the solicitation;
That the person making the solicitation is not affiliated with the lender;(III) That the solicitation is not authorized or sponsored by the lender; and (IV) That the loan information referenced was not provided by the lender.
(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) shall not apply to communications by a lender or its affiliates with a current customer of the lender or with a person who was a customer of the lender.
Any reference to an existing lender without the consent of the lender, and any reference to a loan number, loan amount, or other specific loan information, appearing on the outside of an envelope, visible through the envelope window, or on a postcard, in connection with any written communication that includes or contains a solicitation for goods or services is prohibited.
It is not a violation of this section for a person to use the trade name of anotherlender in an advertisement for services or products to compare the services or products offered by the other lender.
A lender or owner of a trade name or trademark may seek an injunction against aperson who violates this section to stop the unlawful use of the trade name, trademark, or loan information. The person seeking the injunction shall not have to prove actual damage as a result of the violation. Irreparable harm and interim harm to the lender or owner shall be presumed. The lender or owner seeking the injunction may seek to recover actual damages and any profits the defendant has accrued as a result of the violation. The prevailing party in any action brought pursuant to this section is entitled to recover costs associated with the action and reasonable attorney fees from the other party.
For the purposes of this section, "lender" means a bank, savings and loan association,savings bank, credit union, finance company, mortgage bank, mortgage broker, loan originator or holder of the loan, or other person who makes loans in this state, and any affiliate thereof, or any third party operating with the consent of the lender. For the purposes of this section, a person is not a lender based on the person's former employment with a lender.
Nothing in this section shall apply to title insurance.
Source: L. 2004: Entire part added, p. 1533, § 1, effective August 4. L. 2013: (7) amended, (SB 13-154), ch. 282, p. 1468, § 22, effective July 1.