15 U.S.C. § 2069 : US Code - Section 2069: Civil penalties

Search 15 U.S.C. § 2069 : US Code - Section 2069: Civil penalties

(a) Amount of penalty
(1) Any person who knowingly violates section 2068 of this title
shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each
such violation. Subject to paragraph (2), a violation of section
2068(a)(1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), or (11) of
this title shall constitute a separate offense with respect to each
consumer product involved, except that the maximum civil penalty
shall not exceed $1,250,000 for any related series of violations. A
violation of section 2068(a)(3) of this title shall constitute a
separate violation with respect to each failure or refusal to allow
or perform an act required thereby; and, if such violation is a
continuing one, each day of such violation shall constitute a
separate offense, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not
exceed $1,250,000 for any related series of violations.
(2) The second sentence of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall
not apply to violations of paragraph (1) or (2) of section 2068(a)
of this title -
(A) if the person who violated such paragraphs is not the
manufacturer or private labeler or a distributor of the products
involved, and
(B) if such person did not have either (i) actual knowledge
that his distribution or sale of the product violated such
paragraphs or (ii) notice from the Commission that such
distribution or sale would be a violation of such paragraphs.
(3)(A) The maximum penalty amounts authorized in paragraph (1)
shall be adjusted for inflation as provided in this paragraph.
(B) Not later than December 1, 1994, and December 1 of each fifth
calendar year thereafter, the Commission shall prescribe and
publish in the Federal Register a schedule of maximum authorized
penalties that shall apply for violations that occur after January
1 of the year immediately following such publication.
(C) The schedule of maximum authorized penalties shall be
prescribed by increasing each of the amounts referred to in
paragraph (1) by the cost-of-living adjustment for the preceding
five years. Any increase determined under the preceding sentence
shall be rounded to -
(i) in the case of penalties greater than $1,000 but less than
or equal to $10,000, the nearest multiple of $1,000;
(ii) in the case of penalties greater than $10,000 but less
than or equal to $100,000, the nearest multiple of $5,000;
(iii) in the case of penalties greater than $100,000 but less
than or equal to $200,000, the nearest multiple of $10,000; and
(iv) in the case of penalties greater than $200,000, the
nearest multiple of $25,000.
(D) For purposes of this subsection:
(i) The term "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price
Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department of
Labor.
(ii) The term "cost-of-living adjustment for the preceding five
years" means the percentage by which -
(I) the Consumer Price Index for the month of June of the
calendar year preceding the adjustment; exceeds
(II) the Consumer Price Index for the month of June preceding
the date on which the maximum authorized penalty was last
adjusted.
(b) Relevant factors in determining amount of penalty
In determining the amount of any penalty to be sought upon
commencing an action seeking to assess a penalty for a violation of
section 2068(a) of this title, the Commission shall consider the
nature of the product defect, the severity of the risk of injury,
the occurrence or absence of injury, the number of defective
products distributed, and the appropriateness of such penalty in
relation to the size of the business of the person charged.
(c) Compromise of penalty; deductions from penalty
Any civil penalty under this section may be compromised by the
Commission. In determining the amount of such penalty or whether it
should be remitted or mitigated and in what amount, the Commission
shall consider the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of
the business of the person charged, the nature of the product
defect, the severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence or
absence of injury, and the number of defective products
distributed. The amount of such penalty when finally determined, or
the amount agreed on compromise, may be deducted from any sums
owing by the United States to the person charged.
(d) "Knowingly" defined
As used in the first sentence of subsection (a)(1) of this
section, the term "knowingly" means (1) the having of actual
knowledge, or (2) the presumed having of knowledge deemed to be
possessed by a reasonable man who acts in the circumstances,
including knowledge obtainable upon the exercise of due care to
ascertain the truth of representations.