Commonwealth v. Ted Sopko Auto Sales & Locator, 719 A.2d 1111 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1998)

Cases | Commonwealth v. Ted Sopko Auto Sales & Locator, 719 A.2d 1111 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1998) | 2018

The defendant entered an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) with the Commonwealth following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection, into his business practices. Thereafter, the defendant was found to have violated the AVC. The common pleas court imposed a number of fines, and ordered $3,000 in restitution paid to the victim, a consumer who purchased a vehicle from the defendant after he misrepresented the true mileage of the vehicle to her. The defendant appealed, arguing that the common pleas court’s award of restitution was improper. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the common pleas court’s order that the defendant pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 to the Commonwealth to be disbursed to the victim, noting that the Consumer Protection Law authorizes the grant of equitable relief. Since restitution is an equitable remedy, it was a permissible remedy under the Consumer Protection law.