§ 15-50-25 — Structured settlement purchase company prohibitions.

South Carolina § 15-50-25

• Jurisdiction: South Carolina
• Title 15: CIVIL REMEDIES AND PROCEDURES
• Ch. 50: STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT PROTECTION ACT

Text

(A) A transferee or structured settlement purchase company and an employee or other representative of a transferee or structured settlement purchase company must not engage in the following actions: (1) pursue or complete a transfer with a payee without complying with all applicable provisions in this chapter; (2) refuse or fail to fund a transfer after court approval of the transfer; (3) acquire structured settlement payment rights from a payee without complying with all applicable provisions in this chapter, including obtaining court approval of the transfer; (4) intentionally file a structured settlement transfer proceeding in any court other than the court specified in Section 15-50-60; (5) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, pay a commission or finder's fee to any person for facilitating or arranging a structured settlement transfer with a payee. The provisions of this subsection do not prevent a structured settlement purchase company from paying: (a) a commission or finder's fee to a person who is a structured settlement purchase company or is an employee of a structured settlement purchase company; (b) to third parties, any routine transfer expenses including, without limitation, court filing fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees, judgment and lien search fees, attorney's fees and other similar types of fees relating to a transfer; (6) intentionally advertise materially false or misleading information regarding its products or services; (7) attempt to coerce, bribe, or intimidate a payee seeking to transfer structured settlement payment rights, including providing any gift, loan, extension of credit, advance, or other forms of consideration paid to or given to the payee as an inducement to enter a transfer agreement; (8) attempt to defraud a payee or any party to a structured settlement transfer or any interested party in a structured settlement transfer proceeding by any means including, but not limited to, forgery or false identification; (9) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, intervene in a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding if the transferee or structured settlement purchase company is not a party to the proceeding or an interested party relative to the proposed transfer which is the subject of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding. The provisions of this chapter do not prevent a structured settlement purchase company from intervening in a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding if the payee has signed a transfer agreement with the structured settlement purchase company within sixty days before the filing of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding and the structured settlement purchase company which filed the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding violated any provision of this chapter in connection with the proposed transfer that is the subject of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding; (10) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, knowingly contact a payee who has signed a transfer agreement and is pursuing a proposed transfer with another structured settlement purchase company for the purpose of inducing the payee into canceling the proposed transfer or transfer agreement with the other structured settlement purchase company if a structured settlement transfer proceeding has been filed by the other structured settlement purchase company and is pending. The provisions of this subsection do not apply if a hearing has not been held in the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding within ninety days after the filing of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding; (11) fail to dismiss a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding at the request of the payee. A dismissal of a structured settlement proceeding after a structured settlement purchase company has violated the provisions of this clause does not exempt the structured settlement purchase company from any liability under this section; (12) solicit a prospective payee through the conveyance of a document which resembles a check or other form of payment; (13) provide a transfer agreement or related document that purports to give the transferee the first choice or option to purchase any remaining structured settlement payment rights belonging to the payee which are not subject to the structured settlement transfer proceeding; or (14) communicate with a payee, a prospective payee, or a person associated with the payee: (a) after the payee, a prospective payee, or a person associated with the payee has informed the structured settlement purchase company to cease further communication; (b) at any unusual time, or at a time that the structured settlement purchase company knows is inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of the structured settlement purchase company's knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a time before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. local time at the consumer's location is inconvenient. This subsection will not apply to any payee, prospective payee, or person associated with the payee who has opted in and agreed to allow the structured settlement purchase company to contact the person when necessary; or (c) repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass a payee, prospective payee, or a person associated with the payee. (B) A transferee or structured settlement purchase company and an employee or other representative of a transferee or structured settlement purchase company shall not instruct a payee to hire, or directly refer a payee or a prospective payee to seek independent professional advice from, a specific person, except that a structured settlement purchase company may refer a payee to a state or local referral service, bar association, legal aid, or any other entity unrelated to the structured settlement purchase company. A person rendering independent professional advice to a payee or prospective payee is not to be affected by whether a transfer occurs or does not occur and must not in any manner be affiliated with or compensated by the transferee or a structured settlement purchase company unless ordered by the court. (C) A payee may file a motion in the court in which the structured settlement transfer proceeding is pending alleging a violation of subsection (A) and may pursue all rights and remedies to which the payee may be entitled under this chapter or any other applicable law. (D) A structured settlement purchase company may file a motion in the court in which the structured settlement transfer proceeding is pending to enforce items in subsection (A) and may pursue all remedies to which the structured settlement purchase company may be entitled pursuant to this chapter or any other applicable law. (E) If a court finds that a structured settlement purchase company or transferee is in violation of this section, the court may: (1) revoke the registration of the structured settlement purchase company; (2) suspend the registration of the structured settlement purchase company for a period to be determined at the discretion of the court; and (3) enjoin the structured settlement purchase company or transferee from filing new structured settlement transfer proceedings in this State or otherwise pursuing transfers in this State.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2023 Act No. 22 (S.259), SECTION 2, eff July 1, 2023. Editor's Note 2023 Act No. 22, SECTION 20, provides as follows: "SECTION 20. SECTION 9 through SECTION 16 take effect on January 1, 2024. All other SECTIONS take effect on July 1, 2023, and apply to applications filed on or after the effective date."