(a) Definitions. As defined in this section:
(1) "Economic justification" means where a price increase is required in order to maintain existing appropriate and fair profit margins such as are consistent with generally accepted accounting principles and where such pricing is customary, usual and reasonable for this immediate geographic area.
(2) "Goods" means all movable things and fixtures whether or not in existence at the time of the transaction except money, securities and chattel paper, but including merchandise certificates.
(3) "Merchant" means a person who regularly deals in real or personal property, goods or services in a manner which results or is intended to result in consumer transactions. "Merchant" includes, but is not limited to, a seller, lessor, manufacturer, his assigns or successors. "Merchant" includes all other persons who are responsible for any act or practice prohibited by this section.
(4) "Person" means any individual, partnership, partner, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust estate, government entity, limited liability or any other legal entity or their representatives, agents, assigns, employees, or successors.
(5) "Price gouging" means any act, omission or practice undertaken by a merchant which results in or is intended to result in a consumer transaction where the consumer is subjected to a gross disparity between the price of goods or services and their value measured by the price at which similar goods or services are readily available or obtained by other consumers or where there is a substantial increase in the price of goods, merchandise or services when there is no economically justifiable basis for said increase, and it appears from the events of the day(s) under way that the merchant, retailer or wholesaler intends to take advantage of the buying or consuming public as a result of the events of the emergency or disaster underway.
(6) "Retailer", "merchant" or "shopkeeper" means any individual, person or entity that dispenses, sells or markets goods, merchandise or services to the final user or consumer.
(7) "Services" means any includes, but is not limited to, work, labor, and other personal services, privileges and all other accommodations which are primarily for personal, family or household purposes.
(8) "Substantial increase" means a rate that exceeds by more than 15 percent the average cost of the goods, merchandise or services, or item than the cost existing immediately preceding the event of disaster or emergency.
(9) "Transaction" means any oral or written agreement, sale or bargain entered into or intended to be entered into between a merchant and one or more consumers, whether or not it is a contract enforceable at law.
(10) "Wholesaler" means any individual person or entity that sells items, products, merchandise or services to retail merchants or services to retail merchants or shopkeepers intended for the purchase or the consumption by the ultimate consumer or user.
(b) Price gouging is hereby declare to be unlawful and prohibited.
(c) No person, business or entity with purpose or intent to gouge or extract artificially inflated profits from consumers during the time of disaster (whether by way of act of God or man), emergency, war or insurrection, whether national, State or local, shall, without a clear and articulable economically justifiable basis for doing so, participate in the practice of price gouging or substantially increase the price of its products, goods, services, merchandise or any items sold, dispensed or marketed, in the ordinary course of the person's business.
(d) Any person, individual, or organization in violation of divisions (b) and (c) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, and shall be penalized in accordance with Chapter 597 of the Codified Ordinances.
(Ord. 2001-28. Passed 10-8-01.)