{"data":{"id":"us-md/md.-code-commercial-law-13-301","jurisdiction":"us-md","citation":"Md. Code, Commercial Law § 13–301","heading":"","body":"Unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices include any:\n(1) False, falsely disparaging, or misleading oral or written statement, visual description, or other representation of any kind which has the capacity, tendency, or effect of deceiving or misleading consumers;\n(2) Representation that:\n(i) Consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services have a sponsorship, approval, accessory, characteristic, ingredient, use, benefit, or quantity which they do not have;\n(ii) A merchant has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which he does not have;\n(iii) Deteriorated, altered, reconditioned, reclaimed, or secondhand consumer goods are original or new; or\n(iv) Consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services are of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model which they are not;\n(3) Failure to state a material fact if the failure deceives or tends to deceive;\n(4) Disparagement of the goods, realty, services, or business of another by a false or misleading representation of a material fact;\n(5) Advertisement or offer of consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services:\n(i) Without intent to sell, lease, or rent them as advertised or offered; or\n(ii) With intent not to supply reasonably expected public demand, unless the advertisement or offer discloses a limitation of quantity or other qualifying condition;\n(6) False or misleading representation of fact which concerns:\n(i) The reason for or the existence or amount of a price reduction; or\n(ii) A price in comparison to a price of a competitor or to one’s own price at a past or future time;\n(7) Knowingly false statement that a service, replacement, or repair is needed;\n(8) False statement which concerns the reason for offering or supplying consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer services at sale or discount prices;\n(9) Deception, fraud, false pretense, false premise, misrepresentation, or knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with the intent that a consumer rely on the same in connection with:\n(i) The promotion or sale of any consumer goods, consumer realty, or consumer service;\n(ii) A contract or other agreement for the evaluation, perfection, marketing, brokering or promotion of an invention; or\n(iii) The subsequent performance of a merchant with respect to an agreement of sale, lease, or rental;\n(10) Solicitations of sales or services over the telephone without first clearly, affirmatively, and expressly stating:\n(i) The solicitor’s name and the trade name of a person represented by the solicitor;\n(ii) The purpose of the telephone conversation; and\n(iii) The kind of merchandise, real property, intangibles, or service solicited;\n(11) Use of any plan or scheme in soliciting sales or services over the telephone that misrepresents the solicitor’s true status or mission;\n(12) Use of a contract related to a consumer transaction which contains a confessed judgment clause that waives the consumer’s right to assert a legal defense to an action;\n(13) Use by a seller, who is in the business of selling consumer realty, of a contract related to the sale of single family residential consumer realty, including condominiums and town houses, that contains a clause limiting or precluding the buyer’s right to obtain consequential damages as a result of the seller’s breach or cancellation of the contract;\n(14) Violation of a provision of:\n(i) This title;\n(ii) An order of the Attorney General or agreement of a party relating to unit pricing under Title 14, Subtitle 1 of this article;\n(iii) Title 14, Subtitle 2 of this article, the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act;\n(iv) Title 14, Subtitle 3 of this article, the Maryland Door–to–Door Sales Act;\n(v) Title 14, Subtitle 9 of this article, Kosher Products;\n(vi) Title 14, Subtitle 10 of this article, Automotive Repair Facilities;\n(vii) Section 14–1302 of this article;\n(viii) Title 14, Subtitle 11 of this article, Maryland Layaway Sales Act;\n(ix) Section 22–415 of the Transportation Article;\n(x) Title 14, Subtitle 20 of this article;\n(xi) Title 14, Subtitle 15 of this article, the Automotive Warranty Enforcement Act;\n(xii) Title 14, Subtitle 21 of this article;\n(xiii) Section 18–107 of the Transportation Article;\n(xiv) Title 14, Subtitle 22 of this article, the Maryland Telephone Solicitations Act;\n(xv) Title 14, Subtitle 23 of this article, the Automotive Crash Parts Act;\n(xvi) Title 10, Subtitle 6 of the Real Property Article;\n(xvii) Title 14, Subtitle 25 of this article, the Hearing Aid Sales Act;\n(xviii) Title 14, Subtitle 26 of this article, the Maryland Door–to–Door Solicitations Act;\n(xix) Title 14, Subtitle 31 of this article, the Maryland Household Goods Movers Act;\n(xx) Title 14, Subtitle 32 of this article, the Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act;\n(xxi) Title 14, Subtitle 34 of this article, the Social Security Number Privacy Act;\n(xxii) Title 14, Subtitle 37 of this article, the Online Child Safety Act;\n(xxiii) Section 14–1319, § 14–1320, or § 14–1322 of this article;\n(xxiv) Section 7–304 or § 8–801 of the Criminal Law Article;\n(xxv) Title 7, Subtitle 3 of the Real Property Article, the Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act;\n(xxvi) Title 6, Subtitle 13 of the Environment Article;\n(xxvii) Section 7–405(e)(2)(ii) of the Health Occupations Article;\n(xxviii) Title 12, Subtitle 10 of the Financial Institutions Article;\n(xxix) Title 19, Subtitle 7 of the Business Regulation Article;\n(xxx) Section 15–311.3 of the Transportation Article;\n(xxxi) Section 14–1324 of this article;\n(xxxii) Section 14–1326 of this article;\n(xxxiii) The federal Military Lending Act;\n(xxxiv) The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act;\n(xxxv) Section 11–210 of the Education Article;\n(xxxvi) Title 14, Subtitle 44 of this article;\n(xxxvii) Section 14–905 of the Real Property Article;\n(xxxviii) Section 14–1327 of this article;\n(xxxix) Title 14, Subtitle 13 of the Public Safety Article;\n(xl) Section 12–6C–09.1 of the Health Occupations Article;\n(xli) Title 14, Subtitle 45 of this article;\n(xlii) Title 14, Subtitle 46 of this article;\n(xliii) Title 14, Subtitle 47 of this article;\n(xliv) Title 14, Subtitle 48 of this article;\n(xlv) Title 14, Subtitle 49 of this article;\n(xlvi) Section 14–2904 of this article;\n(xlvii) Title 14, Subtitle 50 of this article; or\n(xlviii) Section 13–411.1(c)(2) of the Transportation Article; or\n(15) Act or omission that relates to a residential building and that is chargeable as a misdemeanor under or otherwise violates a provision of the Energy Conservation Building Standards Act, Title 7, Subtitle 4 of the Public Utilities Article.","path":["Article - Commercial Law"],"source_url":"https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcl\u0026section=13-301","current_through":"2026-01-01","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:56:33Z","sha256":"1b12d781c3246956c9dfdf82efbc27714cb5ea7d13b52561dabf904c1ff142a3","source_id":"us-md","stale":false,"prev":"us-md/md.-code-commercial-law-13-206","next":"us-md/md.-code-commercial-law-13-302"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}