Bill > A4552

Introduced Session

This bill makes leasing dogs and cats a violation of the State consumer fraud law. New Jersey residents are sometimes deceived into signing a lease for a pet and end up paying more than they intended. This bill prohibits contracts in which the transfer of ownership of a cat or dog is contingent on the making of payments over a period of time subsequent to the transfer of possession of the cat or dog, unless those payments are on an unsecured loan for the purchase of the animal. It also prohibits lease agreements that provide for or offer the option of transferring ownership of a cat or dog at the end of the lease term. Violations of the bill's provisions are punishable by a monetary penalty of up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $30,000 for any subsequent offense. In addition, the bill provides that a consumer who enters into this kind of contract would be deemed the owner of the cat or dog and would be entitled to a full refund, litigation costs, and attorney's fees, to be recovered in a civil court proceeding.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

John Armato (D)*,  Kristin Corrado (R)*,  Vin Gopal (D)*,  Vincent Mazzeo (D)*,  Raj Mukherji (D)*,  Carol Murphy (D)*,  Kevin Rooney (R)*,  Daniel Benson (D),  Clinton Calabrese (D),  Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D),  JoAnn Downey (D),  Linda Greenstein (D),  Eric Houghtaling (D),  Patricia Jones (D),  Tom Kean (R),  Pedro Mejia (D),  Lisa Swain (D),  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D), 

Approved P.L.2019, c.234. (on 08/09/2019)