§476-21 Failure to comply; remedy of buyer; penalty. In case of failure of the seller or holder to comply with the requirements of sections 476-3, 476-5 to 476-9, 476-11, 476-13, 476-19, 476-20 (if the buyer does not exercise the right to cancel the contract), 476-22 to 476-24, and 476-28 the buyer has the right to recover from the seller or holder, as the case may be, an amount equal to the finance charge or ten per cent of the cash price if no finance charge is specified in the contract or supplementary statement, and the seller is barred from recovery of any finance charge, late, or collection charge or refinancing charge on the credit sale contract involved.
Notwithstanding this section, the failure to comply with any provisions of this chapter may be corrected by the seller at any time after the execution of the credit sale contract, and before the institution of an action under this chapter or the seller is notified thereof in writing by the buyer, and if so corrected, neither the seller nor the holder is subject to any penalty under this or any other section of this chapter.
A seller or assignee may not be held liable in any action brought under this section if the seller or assignee shows by a preponderance of evidence that the failure to comply was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error.
In any successful action under this section the buyer shall be entitled to the costs of the action, together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by court. [L 1961, c 102, pt of §1; Supp, §201A-18; HRS §476-19; am and ren L 1984, c 86, pt of §1]
Case Notes
Abuse of discretion in awarding fees. 4 H. App. 57, 659 P.2d 752.
Attorneys' fees not limited by §607-14. 4 H. App. 57, 659 P.2d 752.
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