§ 899-KKK — Registration

* § 899-kkk. Registration. 1. Unless a consumer litigation funding\ncompany has first registered with the state of New York pursuant to this\narticle, the company may not engage in the business of consumer\nlitigation funding in this state.\n 2. An applicant's registration must be filed in the manner prescribed\nby the secretary of state and must contain all the information required\nby the department of state to make an evaluation of the character and\nfitness of the applicant company. The initial application must be\naccompanied by a five hundred dollar fee. A renewal registration must\ninclude a two hundred dollar fee. A registration must be renewed every\ntwo years and expires on the thirtieth of September.\n 3. A certificate of registration may not be issued unless the\ndepartment of state, upon investigation, finds that the character and\nfitness of the applicant company, and of the officers and directors\nthereof, are such as to warrant belief that the business will be\noperated honestly and fairly within the purposes of this article.\n 4. Every registrant shall also, at the time of filing such\napplication, file with the department of state, if the department of\nstate so requires, a bond satisfactory to the department of state in an\namount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars. In lieu of the bond at the\noption of the registrant, the registrant may post an irrevocable letter\nof credit. The terms of the bond must run concurrent with the period of\ntime during which the registration will be in effect. The bond must\nprovide that the registrant will faithfully conform to and abide by the\nprovisions of this article and to all rules lawfully made by the\nadministrator under this act and to any such person or persons any and\nall amounts of money that may become due or owing to the state or to\nsuch person or persons from the registrant under and by virtue of this\narticle during the period for which the bond is given.\n 5. Upon written request, the applicant shall be entitled to a hearing\non the question of the applicant's qualifications for registration if:\n (a) the department of state has notified the applicant in writing that\nthe application has been denied, or\n (b) the department of state has not issued a registration within sixty\ndays after the application for the registration was filed.\n 6. A request for a hearing may not be made more than fifteen days\nafter the department has mailed a written notice to the applicant that\nthe application has been denied and stating in substance the department\nof state's findings supporting denial of the application.\n 7. Notwithstanding the prior approval requirement of subdivision one\nof this section, a consumer litigation funding company that registered\nwith the department of state between the effective date of this article\nor when the department of state has made applications available to the\npublic, whichever is later, and one hundred eighty days thereafter may\nengage in consumer litigation funding while the company's registration\nis pending approval with the department of state. All funding agreements\nentered into prior to the effective date of this article are not subject\nto the terms of this article.\n 8. No consumer litigation funding company may use any form of consumer\nlitigation funding contract in this state unless it has been filed with\nthe department of state in accordance with the filing procedures set\nforth by the secretary of state.\n 9. The secretary of state is hereby authorized to adopt rules and\nregulations to implement the provisions of this section as needed.\n * NB Effective June 17, 2026\n