New York A 636: Requires higher education research facilities to provide information to the department of education regarding dogs or cats available for adoption

Bill Text

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A00636 Summary:

BILL NOA00636 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S04996

&nbsp

SPONSORSteck

&nbsp

COSPNSRSeawright, Williams

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Add §349-h, Gen Bus L

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Defines certain terms in standard form contracts as unconscionable.

Go to top A00636 Actions:

BILL NOA00636 

&nbsp

01/08/2025referred to consumer affairs and protection

01/07/2026referred to consumer affairs and protection

Go to topA00636 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA00636 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA00636 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 636

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 (Prefiled)

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. STECK, SEAWRIGHT, WILLIAMS -- read once and
 referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection

 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to unconscionable
 terms in standard form contracts

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
 2 349-h to read as follows:
 3 § 349-h. Unconscionable terms in standard form contracts. 1. Find-
 4 ings. The inclusion of unconscionable terms in standard form contracts
 5 regarding dispute resolution is unfair not only because any resulting
 6 dispute resolution proceeding is unfair to the party forced to agree to
 7 the unconscionable terms, but also because the unconscionable terms
 8 discourage valid claims. Furthermore, when the provisions are chal-
 9 lenged, courts may simply strike the unconscionable terms but enforce
 10 the remainder of the agreement regarding dispute resolution. As a
 11 result, businesses have little incentive not to include these terms.
 12 Furthermore, it is unlikely that there is any meeting of the minds over
 13 a dispute-resolution agreement that does not include severed unconscion-
 14 able terms.
 15 2. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "standard form
 16 contract" shall mean any contract to which only one of the parties is an
 17 individual and that individual does not draft the contract. In order to
 18 be a standard form contract, the document constituting the contract need
 19 not be a preprinted form nor need it contain language completely identi-
 20 cal to any other contract.
 21 3. Unconscionable terms. There is a rebuttable presumption that the
 22 following contractual terms are substantively unconscionable when
 23 included in a standard form contract to which only one of the parties to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD02175-01-5

 A. 636 2

 1 the contract is an individual and that individual does not draft the
 2 contract:
 3 (a) a requirement that resolution of legal claims takes place in an
 4 inconvenient venue. An "inconvenient venue" is, for purposes of state
 5 law claims, a place other than the county where the individual resides
 6 or the contract was consummated, and for purposes of federal law claims,
 7 a place other than the federal judicial district where the individual
 8 resides or the contract was consummated;
 9 (b) a waiver of the individual's right to assert claims or seek reme-
 10 dies provided by state or federal statute;
 11 (c) a waiver of the individual's right to seek punitive damages as
 12 provided by law;
 13 (d) a requirement that the individual bring an action prior to the
 14 expiration of the applicable statute of limitations;
 15 (e) a requirement that the individual pay fees and costs to bring a
 16 legal claim substantially in excess of the fees and costs that this
 17 state's courts require to bring such a state law claim or that federal
 18 courts require to bring such a federal law claim; and
 19 (f) the contract does not advise the individual that it is a legal
 20 document, that the individual should consult with counsel of such indi-
 21 vidual's choosing concerning the meaning of its terms, and does not give
 22 the individual a reasonable time in which to review the contract with
 23 such individual's counsel.
 24 4. Relation to common law and the uniform commercial code. In deter-
 25 mining whether the terms described in subdivision thr