427.225. Name of financial institution, deceptive use of, when--cause of action may be brought by whom--financial institution defined--attorney general may enforce.
Name of financial institution, deceptive use of, when--cause of actionmay be brought by whom--financial institution defined--attorneygeneral may enforce.
427.225. 1. Deceptive use of a financial institution's name innotification or solicitation occurs when a business, or a person acting onits behalf, engages in the following activity:
(1) Through advertisement, solicitation, or other notification,either verbally or through any other means, informs a consumer of theavailability of any type of goods or services that are not free;
(2) The name of an unrelated and unaffiliated financial institutionis mentioned in any manner;
(3) The goods or services mentioned are not actually provided by theunrelated and unaffiliated financial institution whose name is mentioned;
(4) The business on whose behalf the notification or solicitation ismade does not have a consensual right to mention the name of the unrelatedand unaffiliated financial institution; and
(5) Neither the actual name nor trade name of the business on whosebehalf the notification or solicitation is being made is stated, nor theactual name or trade name of any actual provider of the goods or servicesis stated, so as to clearly identify for the consumer a name that isdistinguishable and separate from the name of the unrelated andunaffiliated financial institution whose name is mentioned in any manner inthe notification or solicitation, and thereby a misleading implication orambiguity is created, such that a consumer who is the recipient of theadvertisement, solicitation or notification may reasonably but erroneouslybelieve:
(a) That the goods or services whose availability is mentioned aremade available by or through the unrelated and unaffiliated financialinstitution whose name is mentioned; or
(b) That the unrelated and unaffiliated financial institution whosename is mentioned is the one communicating with the consumer.
2. Deceptive use of another's name in notification or solicitationoccurs when a business, or a person acting on its behalf, engages in thefollowing activity:
(1) Falsely states or implies that any person, product or service isrecommended or endorsed by a named third-person financial institution; or
(2) Falsely states that information about the consumer including butnot limited to the name, address, or phone number of the consumer has beenprovided by a third-person financial institution, whether that person isnamed or unnamed.
3. The financial institution whose name is deceptively used, asprovided in this section, may bring a private civil action and recover aminimum amount of ten thousand dollars, court costs, and attorney fees plusany damages such financial institution may prove at trial.
4. For the purposes of this section, a "financial institution"includes a commercial bank, savings and loan association, savings bank,credit union, mortgage banker, or consumer finance company, or aninstitution chartered pursuant to the provisions of an act of the UnitedStates known as the Farm Credit Act of 1971.
5. Nothing contained in this section shall bar the attorney generalfrom enforcing the provisions of sections 407.010 to 407.145, RSMo.
(L. 2004 H.B. 959, A.L. 2008 S.B. 999)