1. Every foreign business trust transacting business in this State which willfully fails or neglects to register with the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of NRS 88A.710 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 business trust transacting business in this State which fails or neglects to register with the Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of NRS 88A.710 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.

3. The failure of a foreign business trust to register with the Secretary of State does not impair the validity of any contract or act of the foreign business trust or prevent the foreign business trust from defending any action, suit or proceeding in any court of this State.

4. When the Secretary of State is advised that a foreign business trust 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 where the foreign business trust has its principal place of business or the Attorney General, or both, for a determination of whether to institute proceedings to recover the fine. The district attorney of the county where the foreign business trust has its principal place of business 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 business trust to answer any interrogatory submitted by the Secretary of State that will assist in the investigation.

6. A foreign business trust, by transacting business in this State without registering with the Secretary of State, 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.

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

(Added to NRS by 1999, 1575; A 2009, 1713; 2013, 894)