Enforcement

(a) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices Any violation of this Act shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. (2) Powers of Commission The Commission shall enforce this Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. Any person who violates this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act. (b) Regulations The Commission shall promulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to carry out the purposes of this Act. (c) Private right of action (1) Enforcement by individuals (A) In general An individual alleging damages as a result of a violation of this Act may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, State or Federal. (B) Relief In a civil action brought under subparagraph (A) in which the plaintiff prevails, the court may award— (i) damages as provided in subparagraph (C); (ii) reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs; and (iii) any other relief, including equitable or declaratory relief, that the court determines appropriate. (C) Damages A prevailing plaintiff is entitled to actual damages as a result of the violation of this Act. (2) Invalidity of pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute joint-action waivers (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with respect to a dispute arising under this Act. (B) Applicability Any determination as to whether or how this paragraph applies to any dispute shall be made by a court, rather than an arbitrator, without regard to whether such agreement purports to delegate such determination to an arbitrator. (C) Definitions In this paragraph: (i) Pre-dispute arbitration agreement The term pre-dispute arbitration agreement means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has not arisen at the time of making the agreement. (ii) Pre-dispute joint-action waiver The term pre-dispute joint-action waiver means an agreement, whether or not part of a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, that would prohibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the agreement to participate in a joint, class, or collective action in a judicial, arbitral, administration, or other forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of making the agreement. (iii) Dispute The term dispute means any claim related to an alleged violation of this Act and between an individual and a covered organization. (d) Enforcement by State attorneys general (1) In general If the chief law enforcement officer of a State, or an official or agency designated by a State, has reason to believe that any person has violated or is violating this Act, the attorney general, official, or agency of the State, in addition to any authority it may have to bring an action in State court under its consumer protection law, may bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, including a State court, to— (A) enjoin further such violation by such person; (B) enforce compliance with this Act; (C) obtain civil penalties; and (D) obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf of residents of the State. (2) Notice and intervention by the FTC The attorney general of a State shall provide prior written notice of any action under paragraph (1) to the Commission and provide the Commission with a copy of the complaint in the action, except in any case in which such prior notice is not feasible, in which case the attorney general shall serve such notice immediately upon instituting such action. The Commission shall have the right— (A) to intervene in the action; (B) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising therein; and (C) to file petitions for appeal. (3) Limitation on State action while Federal action is pending If the Commission has instituted a civil action for violation of this Act, no State attorney general, or official or agency of a State, may bring an action under this subsection during the pendency of that action against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for any violation of this Act alleged in the complaint. (4) Relationship with State-law claims If the attorney general of a State has authority to bring an action under State law directed at acts or practices that also violate this Act, the attorney general may assert the State-law claim and a claim under this Act in the same civil action.