The selling of the building "River of Hope" by Hung Chu Construction Co., Ltd. was alleged to involve false advertising in violation of the Fair Trade Law
Case:
The selling of the building "River of Hope" by Hung Chu Construction Co., Ltd. was alleged to involve false advertising in violation of the Fair Trade Law
Key Words:
changes in the circumstances, statistic figures, expressway
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of March 15, 2001 (the 488th Commissioners' Meeting)
Industry:
Building Construction Engineering Industry (3901)
Relevant Law:
Article 21 of the Fair Trade Law
Summary:
1. This case results from a citizens' complaints letter alleging that Hung Chu Construction Co., Ltd. claimed in an advertisement that it will only take 10 seconds from the door of the building to the riverside expressway. During the pre-selling period of this building, a road that could serve such a purpose did exist. However, the land upon which the road was built was subsequently changed into private land. 2. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) found that during the pre-selling period of the building at issue, Huan He Expressway could indeed be accessed from a pedestrian path in about 10 seconds from the building construction site. However, as such a route was considered to be potentially dangerous, and, in response to citizens' complaints, the Hsin Tien [City Government] erected sound barriers and railings that made it impossible for the advertisements' claims to be carried out according to agreement. Based on the legal principle of changes in the circumstances, it would be difficult to deem that the respondent should be held to bear any legal responsibilities. The FTC also found that by taking Hsi Yuan Road located in front of the building's front door, passing the stoplight at Chung Yang Road, and turning right to Huan He Expressway at 40 kilometers per hour, the average travel time for this route would be about 2 minutes. Although this travel time differs from that claimed by the respondent in the advertisement, the extent of difference would not be more than the general trading counterpart could accept. Consequently, it would be difficult to deem that the respondent made false or misleading representations in the advertisement. However, the statistic figures cited by the respondent did not comport with the actual circumstances, so this letter is issued as a warning to the respondent to pay close attention to the contents of its advertisements in the future so as to avoid any violation of the Fair Trade Law. Appendix: Hung Chu Construction Co., Ltd.'s Uniform Invoice Number: 12305479 Summarized by Ho, Yin-Ru; Supervised by Yeh, Tien-Fu