Amendment SSA1-SB637

SB637-SSA1,16,2 (3) Prohibited rules. No rule promulgated by the department may do any of the following:

SB637-SSA1,16,3 (a) Require disclosures not explicitly required or permitted by this chapter.

SB637-SSA1,16,5 (b) Establish a requirement for, or limitation on, the pricing offered to a consumer by a rental-purchase company.

SB637-SSA1,16,8 (c) Establish any other requirement for, or limitation on, a rental-purchase agreement not explicitly required or permitted by this chapter or that is more restrictive than this chapter.

SB637-SSA1,16,12 420.14 Penalties. (1) Award of damages. Subject to subs. (3) and (6), a rental-purchase company that violates any provision of this chapter, rule promulgated under this chapter, or order issued under this chapter pertaining to a lessee is liable to the lessee in an amount equal to the greater of the following:

SB637-SSA1,16,13 (a) The actual damages sustained by the lessee as a result of the violation.

SB637-SSA1,16,16 (b) If the action is not brought as a class action, 25 percent of the total payments necessary for the lessee to acquire ownership of the rental property, but not less than $100 nor more than $1,000.

SB637-SSA1,16,18 (c) If the action is brought as a class action, the amount the court determines to be appropriate, subject to sub. (2).

SB637-SSA1,17,2 (2) Damage limitations in class actions. The total recovery by all lessees in any class action or series of class actions arising out of the same violation may not be more than the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the net worth of the rental-purchase company. In determining the amount of any award in a class action, the court shall consider, among other relevant factors, the amount of actual damages awarded, the frequency and persistence of the violation, the rental-purchase company's resources, and the extent to which the rental-purchase company's violation was intentional.

SB637-SSA1,17,7 (3) Unintentional violations. A rental-purchase company is not liable for any violation of this chapter if the rental-purchase company shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, and the rental-purchase company maintained procedures reasonably adapted to avoid such an error.

SB637-SSA1,17,11 (4) Costs and attorney fees. If a court awards any monetary amount under sub. (1) to a lessee, the rental-purchase company shall also be liable to the lessee for the costs of the action and, notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), for reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court.

SB637-SSA1,17,17 (5) Exclusive penalties for violations of this chapter; applicability of other laws. (a) The penalties under this section and ss. 100.18 and 100.20 provide the exclusive remedies for a violation of any provision of this chapter, rule promulgated under this chapter, or order issued under this chapter. The application of the penalties under this section and ss. 100.18 and 100.20 are all subject to subs. (3) and (6).

SB637-SSA1,17,20 (b) Except as provided in par. (a) and s. 420.15, laws other than this chapter that relate to a transaction governed by this chapter are not preempted by this chapter.

SB637-SSA1,18,2 (6) Cure of noncompliance. A rental-purchase company is not liable for any violation of any provision of this chapter, rule promulgated under this chapter, or order issued under this chapter if the rental-purchase company notifies the consumer of its noncompliance with this chapter, rule promulgated under this chapter, or order issued under this chapter and corrects the noncompliance within 45 days of the earliest of any of the following:

SB637-SSA1,18,3 (a) The receipt of a written notice of the noncompliance from the consumer.

SB637-SSA1,18,4 (b) The discovery of the noncompliance by the rental-purchase company.

SB637-SSA1,18,13 420.15 Inapplicability of Consumer Act and ch. 409. A rental-purchase company that has provided notice to the department under this chapter is not, with respect to rental-purchase agreements entered into by the rental-purchase company, subject to the Wisconsin Consumer Act, chs. 421 to 427, or any related rule or order adopted under chs. 421 to 427, or to any provision of ch. 409, and any rental-purchase agreement entered into by such a rental-purchase company shall not be construed or regulated as a security interest, credit sale, retail installment sale, conditional sale, or any other form of consumer credit, nor considered to be the creation of a debt or extension of credit.

SB637-SSA1,18,16 420.16 Notice to lessee prior to replevin. (1) Before a rental-purchase company may commence a replevin action, the rental-purchase company must deliver a written notice to the lessee at least 7 days prior to the filing of the action.

SB637-SSA1,18,17 (2) The notice under sub. (1) shall include all of the following information:

SB637-SSA1,18,18 (a) The date the rental-purchase agreement expired.

SB637-SSA1,18,19 (b) The amount of any reinstatement fee that has been or may be assessed.

SB637-SSA1,18,22 (c) The total amount of periodic payments necessary to reinstate the rental-purchase agreement as of the date of the notice, including any reinstatement fee.

SB637-SSA1,18,25 (d) That the lessee may voluntarily surrender the rental property to the rental-purchase company at the lessee's residence or other location as agreed upon by both parties.

SB637-SSA1,19,2 (e) That the rental-purchase company is requesting that the rental property be voluntarily surrendered prior to seeking legal action for return of the property.

SB637-SSA1,3 Section 3. 421.202 (11) of the statutes is created to read:

SB637-SSA1,19,6 421.202 (11) Rental-purchase agreements entered into by a rental-purchase company that has provided notice to the department of financial institutions under ch. 420.

SB637-SSA1,4 Section 4. Initial applicability.

SB637-SSA1,19,9 (1) This act first applies to rental-purchase agreements, and conduct pursuant to those agreements, that are entered into on the effective date of this subsection.

SB637-SSA1,5 Section 5. Effective date.

SB637-SSA1,19,12 (1) This act takes effect on the first day of the 7th month beginning after publication.

SB637-SSA1,19,13 (End)