§ 773. Violations. 1. Technical violations. Every home improvement
contractor who violates any of the provisions of this article shall be
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars.

2. Substantial violations. Every home improvement contractor who fails
to deposit funds in an escrow account or provide a bond or contract of
indemnity or irrevocable letter of credit in compliance with the
requirements of section seventy-one-a of the lien law, or who fails to
provide a written contract substantially in compliance with the
requirements of this article, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to
exceed the greater of two hundred fifty dollars for each violation or
five percent of the aggregate contract price specified in the home
improvement contract; provided, however, that in no event shall the
total penalty exceed twenty-five hundred dollars for each contract.

3. Mitigating factors; defenses. In an instance where the contractor
has been shown to have committed multiple violations of this article or
the provisions of section seventy-one-a of the lien law, the court shall
consider the following factors in assessing a civil penalty pursuant to
subdivision two of this section: the volume of business which the home
improvement contractor performs on an annual basis, the number of
contracts in violation, the actual financial loss or exposure to
financial loss suffered by any owner as a result of the violations, and
whether the home improvement contractor acted in good faith or willfully
with respect to such violations. No home improvement contractor shall be
subject to the increased penalties provided by subdivision two of this
section if such contractor shows by a preponderance of the evidence that
the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error
made notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to
avoid such a violation.