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RAPAPORT... New Mexico's Attorney General, Gary King, resolved litigation with J. Edwards Diamonds that ends the company's jewelry leasing program and requires it to revamp its advertising and pricing systems. In 2008, King ordered an investigation of J. Edwards Diamonds' multi-tiered pricing, advertised discounts and use of a leasing program for the purchase of diamonds and jewelry, but during the course of the investigation, J. Edwards initiated a preemptive lawsuit against the Attorney General's office. The Attorney General counter-sued, claiming that the business's pricing structure, advertising, and leasing program violated the Unfair Practices Act of the State of New Mexico. John Silverman, the president of J. Edwards Diamonds and J. Edwards Jewelry Distributing Company, reached a settlement with King on all but one legal question involving credit card payments, according to the state's announcement. Nonetheless, the judge issued a partial stipulated consent decree prohibiting the jewelry store from implementing, offering or using any variation of its leasing program or "same as cash" purchase option program; advertising its merchandise as at "the lowest prices" or "wholesale," and use practices such as undisclosed balloon payments, multiple conflicting contracts or undisclosed penalties.
Furthermore, the order stated that regarding any consumer with an active lease for the purchase of jewelry or diamonds, J. Edwards cannot enforce or charge termination or reinstatement fees or penalty, enforce the forfeiture provision for sums held in the reserve account or retain any portion of sums paid into the reserve account and should immediately credit sums held in the reserve account to the balance owed to the consumer. However, J. Edwards is entitled to bill and collect all money due under an existing lease subject to the terms of the consent decree. J. Edwards was ordered to pay the Attorney General $135,000. The parties agree that if an agreement cannot be reached on the one unresolved legal question, having to do with credit card payments, the issue will be presented to the presiding judge for a final determination.
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