State RegulationsGA specificDifficulty 3/5
A Georgia business owner offers a producing agent a personal discount on the owner's services in exchange for the agent steering clients to the owner's company, and the agent accepts. Under Georgia law, who has committed an unfair trade practice?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why D is correct
Under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4(b)(8)(B), Georgia prohibits both sides of a rebate arrangement: it is unlawful to give or offer, directly or indirectly, any valuable consideration not specified in the contract as an inducement, and it is equally unlawful to receive or accept such consideration. The service discount is valuable consideration for steering business, so both the owner who offers it and the agent who accepts it commit an unfair trade practice.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) The statute reaches receiving and accepting as well as giving and offering, so the agent is liable too.
- B) The giving side of a prohibited inducement is also unlawful; liability is not confined to licensed producers.
- C) The prohibition covers any valuable consideration not specified in the contract, which includes non-premium benefits such as service discounts.
Memory hook
Rebating catches both hands — the giver and the taker.