What Happened?
On December 19, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 8416, the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable (FAIR) Business Practices Act, (the “FAIR Act”), which updates Section 349 of New York’s General Business Law (GBL). In our prior post we explained that following the law’s passage by the legislature, the FAIR Act expands the state’s consumer protection statute beyond just deceptive practices to also prohibit “unfair” and “abusive” business acts or practices, marking a major broadening of the New York Attorney General’s enforcement powers. Notably, the final law clarifies that only the Attorney General (“NYAG”) can bring claims for unfair or abusive practices, while private lawsuits remain limited to deceptive acts. The FAIR Act will take effect 60 days after signing, on February 17, 2026.
Why Does It Matter?
The FAIR Act represents a sweeping update to New York’s consumer protection law. Previously, New York law only prohibited deceptive acts and practices. The FAIR Act amends Section 349 of the GBL to also prohibit “unfair” and “abusive” acts or practices in the conduct of any business, trade, or commerce. In practical terms, this aligns New York with the consumer protection laws of almost every other state (47 of which already outlaw unfair practices) and with federal UDAAP standards. Key elements of the new law include:
Expanded Definitions
The statute now defines an “unfair” act as one that “causes or is likely to cause substantial injury” to consumers which is not reasonably avoidable and not outweighed by countervailing benefits. This definition is modeled on the Federal Trade Commission’s standard (15 U.S.C. § 45(n)). An “abusive” act is defined in line with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act standard (12 U.S.C. § 5531(d)), i.e., something that materially interferes with a person’s understanding of a product or takes unreasonable advantage of someone’s lack of understanding or inability to protect their interests. These broad definitions mean practices that might not be outright deceptive could still be illegal if they unjustifiably harm consumers or exploit imbalances in knowledge or power.
Attorney General Enforcement & Private Rights
Importantly, the law limits enforcement of the new “unfair” and “abusive” provisions to the NYAG. Private plaintiffs can continue to sue under Section 349 only for “deceptive” acts, just as before – there is no new private right of action for unfair or abusive practices. This was a critical concession to avoid opening floodgates of litigation. However, the AG can now bring enforcement actions against businesses for unfair or abusive conduct, seeking injunctions, restitution, and civil penalties. We can expect the NYAG (which has been actively advocating for this law) to launch investigations and actions under the expanded provisions once the law is effective.
“Consumer-Oriented” Standard Preserved (for Now)
A contentious aspect of the FAIR Act was whether it would eliminate the judicially-created requirement that Section 349 cases be “consumer-oriented” (i.e. directed at the public at large, not private contract disputes). The version initially passed by the legislature removed the consumer-oriented limitation entirely, which would have meant the AG (and possibly private plaintiffs) could pursue claims even for one-off transactions or business-to-business dealings. However, in approving the law, Governor Hochul noted an agreement with legislators to ensure the act “does not override” existing case law on the consumer-oriented standard. In effect, this signals that commercial transactions and purely private disputes will not suddenly all become actionable under Section 349. The statute text still says an act can be unlawful “regardless of whether or not it is consumer-oriented” in an AG enforcement, but this may be revisited by a chapter amendment. For now, compliance should assume that private lawsuits still require a consumer-facing element (as before), while the NYAG might test the boundaries of targeting misconduct affecting small businesses or other non-consumer victims in the public interest.
What Do You Need to Do?
For banks, lenders, and other financial services companies operating in New York, the FAIR Act demands a thorough compliance review beyond the traditional focus on deception/fraud. Even though private litigation risk remains mostly unchanged (as it remains limited to deception claims), the NYAG can now act as a mini-CFPB, bringing the full range of UDAAP claims at the state level. Financial services companies must proactively ensure their products and practices meet these standards and should stay aware of any further regulatory guidance issued by the NYAG.
