Sec. 3-24. - General prohibitions.

(a)

Any person who, with intent to sell or in anywise dispose of merchandise, securities, service, or anything offered by such person, 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 publication, 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.

(b)

The words "untrue, deceptive and misleading," as used in this section, shall be construed as including:

(1)

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, or any sale as an insurance, fire damaged, water-damaged or going-out-of business sale, or any other sale generally known as a distress sale, 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 fails 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; and

(2)

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.

(Ord. No. 70, § 6; Code 1961, § 3-6)

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-216.

Sec. 3-25. - Failure to indicate articles to be sold are "seconds" "irregulars," "secondhand," etc.

Any person who in any manner knowingly advertises or offers for sale to the public any merchandise, goods, commodity or thing which is defective, blemished, secondhand or used, or which has been designed by the manufacturer thereof as "seconds," "irregulars," "imperfects," "not first class," or words of similar import, without clearly and unequivocally indicating in the advertisement or offer of the merchandise, goods, commodity or thing, or the articles, units or parts thereof, so advertised or offered for sale to the public is defective, blemished, secondhand or used or consists of "seconds," "irregulars," "imperfects" or "not first class," shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 70, § 6; Code 1961, § 3-6)

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-218.

Sec. 3-26. - Misuse of word "wholesale" or "wholesaler."

Any person who in any manner in any advertisement or offer for sale to the public of any merchandise, goods, commodity or thing uses the words "wholesale" or "wholesaler" to represent or describe the nature of the business shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, unless such person is actually engaged in selling at wholesale the merchandise, goods, commodity or thing advertised or offered for sale.

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-220.

Sec. 3-27. - Misuse of words "government," "Navy," "Army," etc.; misrepresentation of source of articles as being government-connected.

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any person, not an agency or instrumentality of the United States government, selling or offering for sale goods, wares or merchandise, to use or cause or permit to be used in the corporate or trade name, or description of the seller or the place where the goods, wares or merchandise are offered for sale, any of the following words or expressions, viz, "Army," "Navy," "Marine Corps," "Marines," "Coast Guard," "Government," "Post Exchange," "P-X," or "G.I."

(b)

No person selling or offering for sale any article or merchandise shall in any manner represent, contrary, to fact, that the article was made for, or acquired directly or indirectly from, the United States government or its military or naval forces or any agency of the United States government, or that it has been disposed of by the United States government.

(c)

Any person violating any provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-222.

Sec. 3-28. - Unauthorized use of name or picture of person.

A person who knowingly uses, for advertising purposes, or for the purpose of trade, the name, portrait or picture of any person resident in the city, without having first obtained the written consent of such person, or if dead, of such person's surviving consort, or if none, the next of kin, or, if a minor, of such minor's parent or guardian, as well as that of such minor, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-216.1.

Sec. 3-29. - Advertising former or comparative prices.

(a)

No person shall in any manner knowingly advertise a former or comparative price of the merchandise, goods, commodity, service or thing advertised, unless such price is the current price at or above which substantial sales of merchandise substantially of the same kind, quality, quantity and with substantially the same service are made in the offeror's or advertiser's trade area or was the price at which the merchandise, etc., of substantially the same kind, quality, quantity and with substantially the same service was openly and actively offered for sale by the offeror or advertiser for a period of at least thirty (30) consecutive days within the four (4) months immediately next preceding the date of the advertisement, honestly, in good faith and not for the purpose of establishing a fictitious higher price on which a deceptive comparison might be based. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the advertisement of any former or comparative price, when the date on which substantial sales were made at the former or comparative price so advertised is clearly and conspicuously stated in the advertisement.

(b)

For the purposes of this section, "substantial sales" shall mean a substantial aggregate volume of sales of such merchandise at or above the advertised comparative price in the advertiser's trade area.

(c)

Violations of the provisions of this section are punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Sec. 3-30. - Advertising with intent not to sell or not to sell at stated price or under stated conditions.

(a)

Any person who in any manner advertises or offers for sale to the public any merchandise, goods, commodity, service or thing with intent not to sell, or with intent not to sell at the price or upon the terms advertised or offered, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(b)

In any prosecution or civil action under this section, the refusal by any person, or any employee, agent or servant of such person, to sell, or the refusal to sell at the price or upon the terms advertised or offered, any merchandise, goods, commodity, service or thing advertised or offered for sale to the public, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section; provided, that this subsection shall not apply when it is clearly stated in the advertisement or offer by which such merchandise, goods, commodity, service, or thing is advertised or offered for sale to the public, that the advertiser or offeror has a limited quantity or amount of such merchandise, goods, commodity, service or thing for sale, and the advertiser or offeror, at the time of such advertisement or offer, did in fact have at least such quantity or amount for sale.

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-217.

Sec. 3-31. - Advertising by motor vehicle dealers.

Any person engaged in selling new or used automobiles or trucks to the public shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, if such person in any manner advertises or offers for sale to the public any such automobile or truck:

(1)

Without stating in such advertisement or offer the make, year, model, body, style, manufacturer's series and number of cylinders of such automobile or truck.

(2)

If reference is made to equipment, without itemizing in such advertisement or offer the optional equipment physically attached to the automobile or truck and stating whether each item is included in the price.

(3)

If the manufacturer's suggested retail price is stated, without stating in such advertisement or offer whether such price is an F.O.B. factory or delivered price.

(4)

If a price other than the manufacturer's price is stated, without stating in such advertisement or offer whether it is the cash, delivered price.

State law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-221.