§ 190-A — Home food service plan sales

§ 190-a. Home food service plan sales. 1. Definitions. As used in this\nsection, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and\nphrases shall have the following meanings:\n a. "Home food service plan" means any offering for sale to a household\nconsumer of meat or poultry or seafood or the offering of such products\nin combination with each other or with any other food or non-food\nproduct or service sold as a unit for a total price in the aggregate in\nexcess of two hundred dollars.\n b. "Seller" means any person, partnership, corporation or association,\nhowever organized, engaged in the sale of food through home food service\nplans.\n c. "Food spoilage protection" means any agreement, guarantee, warranty\nor contract offered by the seller whereby the buyer is insured or\nprotected against loss of frozen food due to spoilage.\n d. "Primal source" means the following cuts: (i) for beef, the primal\nsources are the round, flank, loin, rib, plate, brisket, chuck and\nshank; (ii) for veal and lamb or mutton, the primal sources are the leg,\nflank, loin, rack (rib) and shoulder; and (iii) for pork, the primal\nsources are the belly, loin, ham, spareribs, shoulder and jowl.\n e. "Item" means each constituent part or kind of meat cut from a\nprimal souce, each kind of whole poultry, each kind of poultry part,\nevery package of like seafood, and every package of like grocery and\nnon-food products.\n f. "Service charge" means the total price of the home food service\nplan (including, without limitation, the price of food and non-food\nitems, membership fees and charges for delivery, cutting, wrapping, and\nfreezing) less the total price of all food and non-food items included\nin the price of the plan.\n 2. Written contract required for home food service plans. All of the\nterms and conditions of a home food service plan sale shall be contained\nin a single written contract furnished to the buyer at the time of the\nexecution of the contract.\n 3. Right of cancellation. The buyer shall have the right to cancel the\nhome food service plan contract until midnight of the third business day\nafter the day on which the buyer executed the contract or after the day\non which the seller provided the buyer with a fully executed copy of the\ncontract, whichever is later.\n 4. Disclosures required in a written contract. A seller of a home food\nservice plan must disclose to buyers in a contract in writing, in a form\napproved by the commissioner of agriculture and markets, the following:\n a. the name and address of the seller;\n b. whether substitutions of food items may be or are made, under which\ncircumstances such substitutions will be made, the substitution values\nin terms of price, and whether the prospective buyer has the right to\nrefuse such substitutions;\n c. the terms and conditions of food spoilage protection, if any;\n d. that the buyer is not obligated to (1) enter into an additional\nhome food service plan contract; (2) purchase any appliance, including,\nbut not limited to, a freezer, refrigerator-freezer, or microwave oven;\n(3) purchase food spoilage protection; or (4) purchase any other product\nfrom the seller in order to enter into a home food service plan;\n e. the U.S.D.A. quality grade of the meat supplied, if so graded, and\nthe primal source, if applicable;\n f. an itemized list of the components of the home food service plan;\n g. the estimated weight of each meat, poultry and seafood item offered\nfor sale under the home food service plan, provided, however, that such\nestimates shall not differ from the actual weight at time of delivery by\nmore than five percent;\n h. the price per pound of each meat, poultry and seafood item to be\nsupplied;\n i. the total price of the home food service plan, the service charge\nand the estimated price of each meat, poultry and seafood item to be\nsupplied;\n j. the weight, measure or count and unit price of all other food and\nnon-food items supplied for sale;\n k. that at the time of delivery the buyer will be furnished with an\nitemized list stating the identity, primal source, if applicable,\nweight, measure or count, total number of packages supplied, price per\npound, which shall be the price specified in the home food service plan\ncontract, and total price of each food and non-food item included in the\nsale;\n l. that the buyer may cancel the contract until midnight of the third\nbusiness day after the day on which the buyer executed the contract or\nafter the day on which the seller provided the buyer with a fully\nexecuted copy of the contract, whichever is later, by giving written\nnotice of cancellation to the seller; and that within ten days after\ncancellation, the seller shall return to the buyer any note or other\nevidence of indebtedness and shall refund to the buyer all monies\nreceived from the buyer minus the price of the actual amount of food and\nnon-food products delivered to and not returned or tendered by the buyer\nfollowing cancellation. Notice of cancellation if given by mail shall be\ndeemed given when deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and postage\nprepaid.\n 5. Invoice at delivery required. At the time of delivery, the seller\nshall provide to the buyer a written invoice disclosing the name and\naddress of the seller and the identity, primal source, if applicable,\nweight, measure or count, total number of packages supplied, price per\npound, which shall be the price specified in the home food service plan\ncontract, and total price of each food and non-food item included in the\nsale.\n 6. Restriction on assignment of obligation. a. A seller shall not\nnegotiate, transfer, sell or assign any note or other evidence of\nindebtedness, issued in connection with a home food service plan sale,\nto a finance company or other third party prior to midnight of the fifth\nbusiness day after the day on which the buyer executed the contract or\nafter the day on which the seller provided the buyer with a fully\nexecuted copy of the contract, whichever is later.\n b. The assignee of any such note or other evidence of indebtedness\nshall be subject to all claims and defenses of the buyer against the\nseller arising from the sale notwithstanding any agreement to the\ncontrary. The assignee's liability under this subdivision shall not\nexceed the amount owing to the assignee at the time the claim or defense\nis asserted against the assignee. Rights of the buyer under this section\ncan be asserted affirmatively against or as a matter of defense to or\nset-off against a claim by the assignee.\n 7. Violations:\n A violation of this section shall be subject to the applicable\npenalties of this chapter. A violation of this section shall not\nconstitute a misdemeanor pursuant to the provisions of section forty-one\nof this chapter unless such violation is committed with intent to\ndefraud.\n In addition to the foregoing, an application may be made to a court or\njustice having jurisdiction to issue an injunction, to enjoin and\nrestrain the continuance of such violations; and if it shall appear to\nthe satisfaction of the court or justice, that the defendant has, in\nfact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such court\nor justice, enjoining and restraining any further violation.\n