§431C-45 Immunity from liability. (a) No civil liability shall be imposed on and no cause of action shall arise from a person's furnishing information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed fraudulent life settlement acts or suspected or completed fraudulent insurance acts, if the information is provided to or received from:

(1) The commissioner or the commissioner's employees, agents, or representatives;

(2) Federal, state, or local law enforcement or regulatory officials or their employees, agents, or representatives;

(3) A person involved in the prevention and detection of fraudulent life settlement acts or that person's agents, employees, or representatives;

(4) Any regulatory body or their employees, agents, or representatives, overseeing life insurance, life settlements, securities, or investment fraud;

(5) The life insurer that issued the policy covering the life of the insured; or

(6) The licensee and any agents, employees, or representatives.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to statements made with actual malice. In an action brought against a person for filing a report or furnishing other information concerning a fraudulent life settlement act or a fraudulent insurance act, the party bringing the action shall plead specifically any allegation that subsection (a) does not apply because the person filing the report or furnishing the information did so with actual malice.

(c) A person identified in subsection (a) shall be entitled to an award of attorney's fees and costs if the person is the prevailing party in a civil cause of action for libel, slander, or any other relevant tort arising out of activities in carrying out the provisions of this chapter and the party bringing the action was not substantially justified in doing so. For purposes of this section, a proceeding is "substantially justified" if it had a reasonable basis in law or fact at the time that it was initiated.

(d) This section does not abrogate or modify common law or statutory privileges or immunities enjoyed by a person identified in subsection (a). [L 2012, c 256, pt of §1]