CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A judge has ruled that gift cards sold by three major malls in New Hampshire are illegal.

Merrimack County Superior Court ruled the cards sold by Simon Property Group in the Mall of New Hampshire, Pheasant Lane Mall, and the Mall at Rockingham Park violate state law because they have expiration dates and charge fees that cause them to lose value over time.

“We have learned that since these cards went on sale, New Hampshire consumers have lost nearly $1 million due to these administrative fees,” Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said Monday.

“It was to protect consumers from these sorts of losses that the New Hampshire Legislature enacted the gift certificate law,” she said.

Ayotte said that even with the ruling, the Simon Gift Card still may be sold in New Hampshire because the court put off any enforcement pending the outcome of a related case in federal court.

In the federal case, Simon is challenging the state as unconstitutional, arguing its cards are not subject to New Hampshire’s gift certificate law because they are issued by a national bank.

“My office will do everything it can to enforce our consumer protection laws,” she said.

“The state’s position is that the Consumer Protection Act is not pre-empted by federal banking law, and that it in no way affects interstate commerce in a manner that is prohibited by the Constitution,” she said.

The company, meanwhile, said it stands “firmly behind the Simon Visa Giftcard and consumers in New Hampshire continue to endorse its convenience, affordability and versatility, as evidenced by record-breaking sales of the product.”