Ordinance 81-2274ORDINANCE NO. 81-2274
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,
FLORIDA, REQUIRING RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS TO
DISCLOSE REFUND AND EXCHANGE POLICIES UNLESS
FULL REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES ARE OFFERED BY THE
ESTABLISHMENT; REQUIRING RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS
TO HONORREFUNDSAND CRIMINAL
EATiS OFFERED;PPPRO-
VIDING CIVIL ROVIDINGIFO NAN EFFECTIV ES. DATEROVIDING
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
This ordinance is designed to protect Miami Beach consumers, resi-
dents and visitors alike, from unfair practices by retail merchants.
The purpose of this measure is to ensure that establishments which
restrict refunds or exchanges conspicuously disclose such
restrictions.
SECTION 2 DEFINITIONS. For the purpose of this ordinance:
(a) "Retail Establishment" shall mean any store, merchant or
organization, excluding not-for-profit organizations,
selling merchandise to the general public, but shall not
include restaurants.
(b) "Sale of merchandise" shall include the sale, lease or
other disposition for profit of goods or products of any
type, but shall not include the sale, lease or other dis-
position of custom-made or custom -altered goods or pro-
ducts; or food or drink or other perishable goods.
SECTION 3 REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Any retail establishment within the City of Miami Beach
failing to clearly disclose prior to sale, in both English
and Spanish, by the use of prominently -displayed and le-
gible signs at the point of sale, or by other equally con-
spicuous means, its policy with respect to refunds and ex-
changes, shall be obligated to provide full refunds or
exchanges, as the customer prefers, without condition or
delay for a period of 14 days after the sale of the mer-
chandise.
(b) Any retail establishment which has disclosed a policy of
offering refunds or exchanges shall promptly grant refunds
or exchanges to customers in accordance with said dis-
closed policies, and no additional conditions shall be im-
posed on such refunds or exchanges except as disclosed to
the customer.
(c) All sales of merchandise in excess of $1.00 shall be ac-
companied by a receipt disclosing the seller's name, the
date of sale and the sales price; merchandise sold for
over $50 shall be accompanied by a written invoice or re-
ceipt containing the date of sale, the purchase price, the
name of the seller (both the firm name and the
salesperson), the identification number or description of
the merchandise sold, including the model and the
manufacturer thereof.
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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY • 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE - MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
SECTION 4 ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.
(a) Civil Enforcement. The following civil actions may be
brought by the City and/or the injured consumer, and shall
not be mutually exclusive:
(i) By City. Upon recommendation from the City Manager
that a retail establishment has violated this
Ordinance, the City Attorney may initiate an equity
or other action against the retail establishment and
its owners and principal officers, and in the event
the retail establishment is found to have violated
this Ordinance, the court shall award the City of
Miami Beach reasonable attorney's fees and court
costs.
(ii) By Consumers. Any person injured by a violation of
this Ordinance shall have the right to bring a civil
action and if he or she prevails shall be awarded
compensatory damages and reimbursement of attorney
fees and costs.
(b) Civil Penalties. In any civil action based on this Ordi-
nance, if the injured consumer or the City proves that the
violation occurred after one or more written warnings or
notices of violation to the defendant, or was especially
offensive or egregious, the court may impose punitive da-
mages not exceeding $1,000 per violation or three times
the price of the merchandise, whichever is greater.
(c) Criminal Enforcement. A person, firm or corporation vio-
lating or failing to comply with any of the provisions
hereof shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than $100
for the first offense, $500 for the second offense, and
not less than $1,000 for each subsequent offense. In ad-
dition, the court may, at its discretion, impose on the
owner or principal officers of the offending retail estab-
lishment a term of imprisonment for up to 90 days for the
second or subsequent offense. Criminal enforcement pro-
ceedings shall be instituted and conducted by the Miami
Beach Municipal Prosecutor on behalf of the City of Miami
Beach.
SECTION 5 SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of
this Ordinance is, for any reason, held invalid or unconstitutional
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Or-
dinance.
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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY - 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE - MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
SECTION 6 EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect 60 days after its enactment.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 2nd day of September , 1981.
ATTEST:
City C 1erk
1st Reading - July 8, 1981
2nd Reading - September 2, 1981
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APPROVED
LEGAL DEPT.
By!t
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY - 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE - MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
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