North Carolina § 75-9 - Duty of Attorney General to investigate.

§ 75-9. Duty of Attorney General to investigate.

The Attorney General of the State of North Carolina shall have power, and it shall be his duty, to investigate, from time to time, the affairs of all corporations or persons doing business in this State, which are or may be embraced within the meaning of the statutes of this State defining and denouncing trusts and combinations against trade and commerce, or which he shall be of opinion are so embraced, and all other corporations or persons in North Carolina doing business in violation of law; and all other corporations of every character engaged in this State in the business of transporting property or passengers, or transmitting messages, and all other public service corporations of any kind or nature whatever which are doing business in the State for hire. Such investigation shall be with a view of ascertaining whether the law or any rule of the Utilities Commission or Commission of Banks [Commissioner of Banks] is being or has been violated by any such corporation, officers or agents or employees thereof, and if so, in what respect, with the purpose of acquiring such information as may be necessary to enable him to prosecute any such corporation, its agents, officers and employees for crime, or prosecute civil actions against them if he discovers they are liable and should be prosecuted. History (1913, c. 41, s. 8; C.S., s. 2567; 1931, c. 243, s. 5; 1933, c. 134, s. 8; 1941, c. 97, s. 5; 1969, c. 833.) Legal Periodicals. - For comment, "Consumer Protection and Unfair Competition - The 1969 Legislation," see 48 N.C.L. Rev. 896 (1970). For article on antitrust and unfair trade practice law in North Carolina, with federal law compared, see 50 N.C.L. Rev. 199 (1972). For comment on the Landlord Eviction Remedies Act in light of Spinks v. Taylor, 303 N.C. 256 , 278 S.E.2d 501 (1981), see 18 Wake Forest L. Rev. 25 (1982). For comment, "Time Sharing: The North Carolina General Assembly's Response to Ownership of Time Share Contracts," see 15 N.C. Cent. L.J. 56 (1984).