North Carolina § 143-151 - Penalties.

§ 143-151. Penalties.

Any person who is found by the Commissioner to have violated the provisions of the Act, this Article, or any rules adopted under this Article, shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation. Each violation shall constitute a separate violation for each manufactured home or for each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required by the Act, this Article, or any rules adopted under this Article. The maximum civil penalty may not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) for any related series of violations occurring within one year after the date of the first violation. In determining the amount of the penalty, the Commissioner shall consider the degree and extent of harm caused by the violation, the amount of money that inured to the benefit of the violator as a result of the violation, whether the violation was willful, and the prior record of the violator in complying or failing to comply with laws, rules, or orders applicable to the violator. The clear proceeds of civil penalties provided for in this section shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with G.S. 115C-457.2. Any individual, or a director, officer or agent of a corporation who knowingly and willfully violates the Act, this Article, or any rules adopted under this Article in a manner that threatens the health or safety of any purchaser is guilty of a Class I felony. History (1971, c. 1172, s. 7; 1979, c. 558, s. 1; 1985, c. 487, s. 7; 1987, c. 429, s. 19; 1993, c. 539, s. 1011; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1998-215, s. 93; 1999-393, s. 2.) Legal Periodicals. - For note, "The Forty-Two Hundred Dollar Question: 'May State Agencies Have Discretion in Setting Civil Penalties Under the North Carolina Constitution?'," see 68 N.C.L. Rev. 1035 (1990).