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2005 SESSION
057152204Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 18.2-216 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 18.2-216. Untrue, deceptive or misleading advertising, inducements, writings or documents.
Any person, firm, corporation or association who, with intent
to sell or in anywise dispose of merchandise, securities, service or anything
offered by such person, firm, corporation or association, directly or
indirectly, to the public for sale or distribution or with intent to increase
the consumption thereof, or to induce the public in any manner to enter into
any obligation relating thereto, or to acquire title thereto, or any interest
therein, makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates or places before the
public, or causes, directly or indirectly to be made, published, disseminated,
circulated or placed before the public, in a newspaper or other publications,
or in the form of a book, notice, handbill, poster, blueprint, map, bill, tag,
label, circular, pamphlet or letter or in any other way, an advertisement of
any sort regarding merchandise, securities, service, land, lot or anything so
offered to the public, which advertisement contains any promise, assertion,
representation or statement of fact which is untrue, deceptive or misleading,
or uses any other method, device or practice which is fraudulent, deceptive or
misleading to induce the public to enter into any obligation, shall be guilty
of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The words "untrue, deceptive and
misleading," as used in this section, shall be construed as including (i)
the advertising in any manner by any person of any goods, wares or merchandise
as a bankrupt stock, receiver's stock or trustee's stock, if such stock
contains any goods, wares or merchandise put therein subsequent to the date of
the purchase by such advertiser of such stock, and if such advertisement of any
such stock fail to set forth the fact that such stock contains other goods,
wares or merchandise put therein, subsequent to the date of the purchase by
such advertiser of such stock in type as large as the type used in any other
part of such advertisement, including the caption of the same, it shall be a
violation of this section; and (ii) the use of any writing or document which
appears to be, but is not in fact a negotiable check, negotiable draft or other
negotiable instrument notwithstanding the
fact that its nonnegotiability is indicated on the writing or document unless the
writing clearly and conspicuously, in at least 10-point
bold type, bears the phrase "THIS IS NOT A CHECK" printed
on its face.