§1250-L. Locale misrepresentation
1. General prohibition. Except as provided in subsection 2, a business offering consumer goods for sale in this State may not advertise or cause to be listed in a telephone directory a business name that:
A. Is intentionally designed to misrepresent where the business is located or operating; or [PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
B. Falsely identifies the business as being located or operating in the area covered by the telephone directory. [PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
Each day a violation continues constitutes a separate offense until all numbers listed in the directory or advertisement in association with the prohibited business name are disabled so that calls to the numbers do not in any way connect callers to the business.
[PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
2. Exceptions. Subsection 1 does not apply to:
A. A telephone service provider or the publisher or distributor of a telephone service directory, unless the conduct proscribed by subsection 1 is on behalf of that telephone service provider, publisher or distributor; or [PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
B. Any foreign corporation, the stock of which is traded on a national stock exchange and that has gross annual revenues in excess of $100,000,000. [PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
[PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
3. Violation. A person who violates this section commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 may be adjudged.
[PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2003, c. 647, §1 (NEW).