417.426. False or fraudulent statements, failure to make required disclosures, civil liability--damages--punitive damages, when--attorney general's duties.
False or fraudulent statements, failure to make required disclosures,civil liability--damages--punitive damages, when--attorney general'sduties.
417.426. 1. Any invention developer who violates any provision ofsections 417.400 to 417.436, or who makes any false or fraudulentstatement, representation, or omission of material fact, or fails to makeall the disclosures required by sections 417.400 to 417.436, shall becivilly liable to any person injured thereby in the amount of at leasttwice the damages sustained by such person together with costs andreasonable attorney's fees. In addition, if the invention developer isfound to have acted with malice, the court in its discretion may awardpunitive damages. For purposes of this subsection, the amount of damagessustained by the person shall be presumed to be at least the amount of allmoneys paid to the invention developer by such person.
2. Failure to make the disclosures required by sections 417.400 to417.436 renders any contract subsequently entered into between the customerand the invention developer voidable by the customer.
3. The attorney general shall enforce the provisions of sections417.400 to 417.436 and may recover a civil penalty and may seek equitablerelief to restrain the violation of sections 417.400 to 417.436.
(L. 1995 S.B. 80 & 88 § 417.424 subsecs. 4 to 6)