New York Consumer Protection
NY GBL §§ 349, 350 • NY CPLR §§ 214-i, 213(2) • N.Y. Correction Law Art. 23-ANew York's state-law overlay to federal consumer protection: deceptive acts and practices under General Business Law 349, false advertising under Section 350, the Consumer Credit Fairness Act limiting consumer debt lawsuits, Correction Law Article 23-A on the employment use of criminal history, and the Clean Slate Act's automatic sealing of eligible records.
Reviewed by Carl Rausa, Esq.
What It Covers
New York's consumer protection framework layers on top of the federal statutes. GBL 349 broadly prohibits deceptive acts and practices in the conduct of any business, trade, or commerce in the state, and GBL 350 prohibits false advertising. Together they give New York consumers a private right of action: GBL 349(h) provides actual damages or a $50 statutory minimum, trebled up to $1,000 for willful violations, plus attorney's fees; GBL 350-e provides actual damages or $500, trebled up to $10,000 for willful violations, plus attorney's fees. The FAIR Business Practices Act, effective February 17, 2026, amended GBL 349 to add "unfair" and "abusive" categories alongside "deceptive." Important limitation: only the New York Attorney General may bring claims based on the new "unfair" or "abusive" categories. The GBL 349(h) private right of action remains limited to "deceptive" acts and practices.
The Consumer Credit Fairness Act, codified at CPLR 214-i and effective for consumer credit transactions as of April 7, 2022, shortened the statute of limitations for consumer credit debt from six years to three years and imposed heightened pleading and service requirements on debt-collection plaintiffs. For non-consumer-credit contract claims, CPLR 213(2) still provides a six-year limitations period. These two time periods, and the pleading rules at CPLR 3015(i), are the core state-law defenses in New York consumer debt suits.
On background checks, Correction Law Article 23-A limits when an employer may consider a criminal record in hiring, and the Clean Slate Act, codified at Criminal Procedure Law Section 160.57 and effective November 16, 2024, automatically seals eligible misdemeanor and felony records after three and eight year waiting periods, respectively, provided certain conditions are met. Together with the FCRA, these rules form the legal backbone for challenging inaccurate or improperly used background checks in New York.
Key Provisions
- NY GBL § 349(h) Private right of action for deceptive acts and practices: actual damages or $50 minimum, trebled up to $1,000 for willful violations, plus attorney's fees.
- NY GBL § 350 / § 350-e False advertising; private right of action under 350-e for actual damages or $500, trebled up to $10,000 for willful violations, plus attorney's fees.
- NY GBL § 527-a Automatic Renewal Law, requiring clear disclosure and easy cancellation of automatically renewing consumer contracts.
- NY CPLR § 214-i 3-year statute of limitations on consumer credit transactions (Consumer Credit Fairness Act, effective April 7, 2022).
- NY CPLR § 213(2) 6-year statute of limitations on general contract obligations not covered by 214-i.
- NY CPLR § 3015(i) Pleading requirements for consumer credit collection actions, including specific factual allegations and attached documentation.
- NY Correction Law Art. 23-A Limits on the employment use of criminal history, including factors an employer must consider before denying employment based on a conviction.
- NY Clean Slate Act (CPL § 160.57) Automatic sealing of eligible criminal records after the applicable waiting period (effective November 16, 2024).
- FAIR Business Practices Act Amended GBL 349 to add "unfair" and "abusive" categories alongside "deceptive" (effective February 17, 2026). The new categories are enforceable only by the NY Attorney General; the private right of action under GBL 349(h) remains limited to "deceptive" acts.
- NY UCC Art. 9 Secured transactions, including the no-breach-of-the-peace rule for self-help repossession (§ 9-609), pre-sale notification (§§ 9-611, 9-614), the right to redeem (§ 9-623), the special "no inference" rule for consumer-transaction deficiency disputes that leaves consumer-deficiency standards to the courts (§ 9-626(b)), and the consumer statutory minimum damages (§ 9-625(c)(2)).