New York City Emergency Rule

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With the Biden administration ramping up scrutiny on supply chains and pricing practices, businesses should take a moment to revisit their COVID-19 price gouging compliance.  As we’ve previously highlighted, risk management with ever-shifting price gouging restrictions requires careful consideration of documentation and oversight of pricing practices and decisions. For reputable companies up and down the national supply chain, compliance with the array of state price gouging laws requires more than intuition and a moral compass. Even with the best intentions, many businesses inadvertently run afoul of price gouging laws. Because price gouging statutes can cover more than obvious bad conduct and point-of-sale pricing to consumers, manufactures and suppliers should consider implementing procedures to assess whether they are required to comply with pricing restrictions, whether they are complying, and how to manage compliance. Below we outline some key considerations for businesses.

In an interview on All In with Chris Hayes in January, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., claimed that a factor causing the high prices facing U.S. consumers is “giant corporations who say, wow, a lot of talk about high prices and inflation. This is a chance to get in there and…

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a disaster emergency for the state through January 15, 2022 in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the state and the newly identified Omicron variant. According to The Wall Street Journal, New York is the first state to declare a state of emergency in response to Omicron, although many states have remained under declared states of emergency since the beginning of the pandemic. New York allowed its previous declared state of emergency to expire on June 24, 2021.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Attorney General Letitia James has stated her office will be aggressive in prosecuting price gouging. On March 10, AG James stated, “we will not tolerate schemes or frauds designed to turn large profits by exploiting people’s health concerns.” The NY Office of Attorney General (“OAG”) is tasked with enforcing New York General Business Law Section 396-r, which prohibits parties from selling or offering certain goods or services at an unconscionably excessive price during an abnormal disruption in the market.