§ 495 — Revocation, suspension or surrender of licenses

§ 495. Revocation, suspension or surrender of licenses. 1. The\nsuperintendent may suspend or revoke any license issued under this\narticle, if he shall find that:\n (a) the licensee, knowingly or without the exercise of due care to\nprevent such violation, has violated any provision of this article, the\nact of congress entitled "Truth in Lending Act" and the regulations\nthereunder, as such act and regulations may from time to time be\namended, or of any other law regulating instalment sales agreements, or\nhas failed to comply with any demand, or requirement, lawfully made by\nthe superintendent under and within the authority of this article; or\n (b) there has been any material misstatement or failure to give a true\nreply to a question in the application for the license; or\n (c) the licensee has defrauded any retail buyer to the buyer's damage;\nor wilfully failed to perform any written agreement with any retail\nbuyer; or\n (d) Any fact or condition exists which, if it had existed at the time\nof the original application for such license, clearly would have\nwarranted the superintendent of financial services in refusing to issue\nsuch license originally.\n (e) in the case of a licensee other than a natural person.\n (1) any officer, director, trustee, or partner of such licensee has\nbeen guilty of any act or omission which would be cause for revoking or\nsuspending a license of such party as an individual; or\n (2) any other agent or employee of such licensee has been guilty of\nsuch act or omission and the licensee has approved or had knowledge\nthereof or of acts or omission of like character and after such approval\nor knowledge has retained the benefit, proceeds, profit, or advantage of\nsuch act or omission or otherwise ratified it.\n 2. No license shall be suspended or revoked except after a hearing\nthereon. The superintendent shall give the licensee at least ten days'\nwritten notice of the time and place of such hearing by registered mail\naddressed to the principal place of business in this state of such\nlicensee. Any order suspending or revoking such license shall recite the\ngrounds upon which it is based and shall not be effective until ten days\nafter written notice thereof has been sent by registered mail to the\nlicensee at such principal place of business.\n 3. The superintendent in his discretion may revoke or suspend only the\nparticular license with respect to which grounds for revocation or\nsuspension may occur or exist; but if he finds that grounds for\nrevocation or suspension are of general application to all places of\nbusiness, or to more than one place of business, operated by such\nlicensee, he shall revoke or suspend all of the licenses issued to said\nlicensee or those licenses to which the grounds for revocation or\nsuspension apply, as the case may be.\n 4. Any licensee may surrender any license by delivering to the\nsuperintendent written notice that such license is thereby surrendered,\nbut such surrender shall not affect the licensee's civil or criminal\nliability for acts committed prior thereto.\n 5. No suspension, revocation or surrender of any license shall impair\nor affect the obligation of any instalment contract, obligation or\ncredit agreement lawfully acquired previously thereto by the licensee.\n 6. The superintendent shall establish rules as to the form of\nhearings, findings, and orders which shall be reasonable and in the\npublic interest.\n 7. The superintendent may, on good cause shown, or where there is a\nsubstantial risk of public harm, suspend any license issued pursuant to\nthis article for a period not exceeding thirty days, pending\ninvestigation. "Good cause", as used in this subdivision, shall exist\nonly when the licensee has defaulted or is likely to default in\nperforming its financial engagements or engages in dishonest or\ninequitable practices which may cause substantial harm to the persons\nafforded the protection of this article.\n