(A) The department may file a request for a contested case hearing with the Administrative Law Court for an order requiring the club to cease and desist or an order revoking, suspending, or vacating the certificate of authority of a club, if the Administrative Law Court finds, after a hearing, that the club:

(1) has violated or failed to comply with any provisions of this chapter or regulations promulgated pursuant to the authority of this chapter;

(2) has obtained a certificate of authority through wilful misrepresentation or fraud;

(3) has engaged in fraudulent or deceptive practices;

(4) has wilfully, orally or in writing, misrepresented the terms, benefits, privileges, and provisions of any service contract issued or to be issued by it or any other club;

(5) is unable to meet its obligations as determined by generally accepted accounting principles;

(6) has, after notice to the club of an alleged occurrence of any of items (1) through (5) of this section, refused without just cause to submit relevant information to the administrator with respect to the motor club services within this State.

(B) Instead of revocation, suspension, or refusal to continue a certificate of authority for a violation or violations of items (1) through (6) of subsection (A) of this section, the administrative law judge may assess an administrative penalty of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars for each violation. An accumulation of these penalties may not exceed five thousand dollars for matters commenced in any calendar year. These penalties may be assessed in connection with orders to cease and desist.

HISTORY: 1987 Act No. 155, Section 6, eff January 1, 1988; 1991 Act No. 142, Section 25, eff July 1, 1991; 2005 Act No. 128, Section 9, eff July 1, 2005.

Editor's Note

This section is derived from former Section 38-50-100.

2005 Act No. 128, Section 27, provides as follows:

"This act takes effect on July 1, 2005, and applies to all licensing and administrative hearings involving the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs."

Effect of Amendment

The 1991 amendment designated the existing provisions of the section as subsection (1), and added subsection (2).

The 2005 amendment redesignated subsection (1) as subsection (A), paragraphs (1)(a) to (f) as paragraphs (A)(1) to (6), and subsection (2) as subsection (B); rewrote subsection (A) to refer to the Administrative Law Court; and made conforming amendments throughout.