[ §489J-2] Unauthorized restaurant reservations; prohibited. (a) No third-party restaurant reservation service shall advertise, list, promote, facilitate, enable, or sell reservations for a restaurant through the third-party restaurant reservation service's website, mobile application, or other digital platform unless the restaurant, or a contractual designee of the restaurant expressly authorized by the restaurant to distribute reservations to a third party, agrees in writing for the third-party restaurant reservation service to advertise, list, promote, facilitate, enable, or sell reservations for that restaurant. (b) Any person who is charged a fee or price by or through a third-party restaurant reservation service for a reservation that is advertised, listed, promoted, facilitated, enabled, or sold in violation of this section; any restaurant for which a third-party restaurant reservation service has advertised, listed, promoted, facilitated, enabled, or sold a reservation in violation of this section; or any restaurant's contractual designee who obtained reservation distribution rights directly from the restaurant, with respect to a reservation advertised, listed, promoted, facilitated, enabled, or sold in violation of this section, may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction for the following: (1) Injunctive relief to restrain or enjoin any activity in violation of this section; (2) Actual damages; provided that the actual damages shall not exceed the total fees collected by the third-party restaurant reservation service for the subject violation; and (3) Attorneys' fees and costs and any other remedies that the court deems appropriate. (c) Any action alleging a violation of this section shall be brought within one year of the occurrence of the acts alleged to have violated this section. (d) For the purposes of this section: "Restaurant" means a food establishment in which food is provided free of charge or sold to consumers for consumption on or off the premises. "Restaurant" includes dine-in establishments, pushcarts, food stands, and vehicles. "Third-party restaurant reservation service" means any website, mobile application, or other digital platform that: (1) Offers or arranges for reserving on-premises service for a customer at a restaurant; and (2) Is owned and operated by an entity other than the entity that owns the applicable restaurant. [L 2025, c 77, §2]
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