1. Every foreign registered limited-liability partnership which is doing business in this State and which willfully fails or neglects to register with the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 87.440 to 87.500, inclusive, and 87.541 to 87.5443, inclusive, is subject to a fine of not less than $1,000 but not more than $10,000, to be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.

2. Every foreign registered limited-liability partnership which is doing business in this State and which fails or neglects to register with the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 87.440 to 87.500, inclusive, and 87.541 to 87.5443, inclusive, may not commence or maintain any action, suit or proceeding in any court of this State until it has registered with the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 87.440 to 87.500, inclusive, and 87.541 to 87.5443, inclusive.

3. The failure of a foreign registered limited-liability partnership to register in this State does not impair the validity of any contract or act of the foreign registered limited-liability partnership, or prevent the foreign registered limited-liability partnership from defending any action, suit or proceeding in any court of this State.

4. When the Secretary of State is advised that a foreign registered limited-liability partnership is subject to the fine described in subsection 1, the Secretary of State may, as soon as practicable, refer the matter to the district attorney of the county in which the foreign registered limited-liability partnership’s principal place of business is located or the Attorney General, or both, for a determination of whether to institute proceedings to recover the fine. The district attorney of the county in which the foreign registered limited-liability partnership’s principal place of business is located or the Attorney General may institute and prosecute the appropriate proceedings to recover the fine. If the district attorney or the Attorney General prevails in a proceeding to recover the fine described in subsection 1, the district attorney or the Attorney General is entitled to recover the costs of the proceeding, including, without limitation, the cost of any investigation and reasonable attorney’s fees.

5. In the course of an investigation of a violation of this section, the Secretary of State may require a foreign registered limited-liability partnership to answer any interrogatory submitted by the Secretary of State that will assist in the investigation.

6. A foreign registered limited-liability partnership, by transacting business in this State without registration, appoints the Secretary of State as its agent for service of process with respect to causes of action arising out of the transaction of business in this State by the foreign registered limited-liability partnership.

7. The Secretary of State may adopt regulations to administer the provisions of this section.

(Added to NRS by 2009, 1699; A 2013, 867)