The director may accept an assurance of voluntary compliance with respect to any method,
act, or practice deemed to be an unfair or deceptive trade practice from any person
who has engaged, or was about to engage, in such method, act, or practice. Such assurance
of voluntary compliance shall be in the form of a written agreement between Broward
County and the merchant, vendor, or supplier, approved as to form and legal sufficiency
by the general counsel. Such an agreement shall be filed with the Broward County Records,
Taxes, and Treasury Division. Written assurances of voluntary compliance may include
a stipulation for voluntary payment by the merchant of the cost of investigation by
the Permitting, Licensing and Consumer Protection Division and may also include a
stipulation for the restitution to the consumer of money, property, or other consideration
received by the merchant from the consumer in connection with the act or practice.
An assurance is not evidence of prior violation of the code, however, unless an assurance
has been rescinded by agreement of the parties or voided by the court for good cause;
and subsequent failure to comply with the terms of an assurance shall be deemed prima
facie evidence of a violation of the code. No such assurance shall act as a limitation
upon any action or remedy available to a person aggrieved by a violation of the code.
