Maine § 1477. - Violations

§ 1477.. Violations

1.  Violations of this chapter to be violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act.  Any violation of this chapter shall constitute a violation of Title 5, chapter 10, Unfair Trade Practices Act.

2.  Civil penalty.  Each violation of this chapter constitutes a civil violation and shall be punished by a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. No action may be brought for a civil violation under this subsection more than 2 years after the date of the occurrence of the violation. No dealer may be held liable for a civil violation under this subsection if that dealer shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was unintentional and a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error. The failure of a dealer or a seller of a used motor vehicle to disclose all information concerning a vehicle which is sold to another dealer as required by section 1475, when the information is known to the dealer or seller at the time of the sale or transfer of the vehicle, shall also be considered a violation of this chapter and shall constitute a civil violation that is subject to the civil penalties provided for in this subsection.

3.  Private remedies.  In addition to any other remedy, if a dealer violates this chapter, that dealer is liable to the purchaser in an amount determined by the court of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 as liquidated damages, and for costs and reasonable attorney's fees. No action may be brought under this subsection more than 2 years after the date of the occurrence of the violation. No dealer may be held liable under this subsection if that dealer shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was unintentional and a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error.

In addition to any other remedy, if a seller of a used motor vehicle who sells the vehicle to a dealer fails to disclose facts concerning that vehicle which are required to be disclosed by the provisions of section 1475, which facts were known by the seller at the time the disclosure was made, the seller is liable to the purchasing dealer in an amount determined by the court of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 as liquidated damages, and for costs and reasonable attorney's fees. No action may be brought under this subsection more than 30 months after the date of the occurrence of the violation.