§ 5-19-25 — Cease and Desist Orders by Administrator; Penalties for Violation of This Chapter; Right to Counsel at Hearing; Judicial Review

After notice and hearing, the administrator may order a licensee under this chapter or a person acting on behalf of the licensee to cease and desist from engaging in violations of this chapter. A creditor who is found by the administrator, after notice and hearing, to have violated this chapter may be ordered by the administrator to pay a civil penalty in an amount determined by the administrator of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in the aggregate for all violations of a similar nature or, where violations are knowing violations, of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), in addition to any other penalties provided by law, including, but not limited to, license revocation. Violations shall be of a similar nature if the violations consist of the same or substantially the same course of action or practice irrespective of the number of times the course of action or practice occurred. All civil penalties collected shall be paid into the special fund provided by Section 5-2A-20 and used in the supervision and examination of licensees. At the hearing, the licensee shall be entitled to be represented by counsel. A licensee aggrieved by an order of the administrator under this section may obtain judicial review of the order and the administrator may obtain an order of the court for enforcement of its order in the circuit court. The proceedings shall be governed by the provisions of Section 5-19-26.

Legislative History

(Acts 1971, No. 2052, p. 3290, §20; Acts 1996, No. 96-576, p. 887, §2.)