Christie warns merchants of price gouging during storm | Courier-Post | courierpostonline.com
"New Jersey’s price gouging statute makes it illegal to set excessive price increases during a declared state of emergency or for 30 days after the termination of the state of emergency.
"Price increases are deemed excessive under the law if they are more than 10 percent above the price at which the good or service was sold during the normal course of business before the state of emergency.
"The law does allow that, if the merchant faces additional costs imposed by suppliers or legitimate logistical concerns, a price increase is considered excessive if it is more than 10 percent above the amount of markup from cost, compared with the markup normally applied.
"As a reminder of the penalties, Christie pointed out the case of a Sussex County gas station accused of raising fuel prices more than 16 percent last year during Irene. To settle an enforcement action by the Division of Consumer Affairs, that business recently agreed to pay $50,000.
