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California Penal Code § 396 prohibits price gouging in California during a state of emergency. California enacted a few amendments to Section 396 that are effective now. As explained in more detail below, among other things, the amendments close potential loopholes relating to e-commerce, sales of new products, and the relevant benchmark date for pre-emergency prices.
The entire State of California has been under a state of emergency relating to COVID-19 since Governor Newsom’s March 4, 2020 proclamation of a state of emergency, and various California counties have been under separate states of emergency due to the California wildfires. During the current COVID-19 emergency, there has been an explosion of price gouging investigations brought by the State and also by local counties, as well as lawsuits brought by private parties. COVID-19 price gouging investigations and cases have mostly focused on food items (such a
Thursday, January 7, 2021
California Penal Code § 396 prohibits price gouging in California during a state of emergency. California enacted a few amendments to Section 396 that are effective now. As explained in more detail below, among other things, the amendments close potential loopholes relating to e-commerce, sales of new products, and the relevant benchmark date for pre-emergency prices.
The entire State of California has been under a state of emergency relating to COVID-19 since Governor Newsom’s March 4, 2020 proclamation of a state of emergency, and various California counties have been under separate states of emergency due to the California wildfires. During the current COVID-19 emergency, there has been an explosion of price gouging investigations brought by the State and also by local counties, as well as lawsuits brought by private parties. COVID-19 price gouging investigations and cases have mostly focused on food items (such as eggs) and consumer good