North Dakota § 51-19-16 - General provisions

§ 51-19-16. General provisions

1. Every franchisor or subfranchisor offering franchises for sale in this state shall at all times keep and maintain a complete set of books, records, and accounts of such sales, which must at all times be open to inspection by the commissioner, and shall make and file with the commissioner such reports as the commissioner may by rule or order prescribe. 2. The commissioner may accept and act upon the opinions, appraisals, and reports of any engineers, appraisers, or other experts which may be presented by an applicant or any interested party on any question of fact concerning or affecting the franchises proposed to be offered and sold. In lieu of, or in addition to, such opinions, appraisals, and reports, the commissioner may have any or all matters concerning or affecting such franchises investigated, appraised, passed upon, and certified to the commissioner by engineers, appraisers, or other experts selected by the commissioner. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Any document filed under this chapter may be incorporated by reference in a subsequent application filed under this chapter if it was filed within four years prior to the filing of such application or is otherwise available in the files of the commissioner, to the extent that the document is currently accurate. In any proceeding under this chapter, the burden of proving an exemption or exception from a definition is upon the person claiming it. The commissioner may honor requests from interested persons for interpretive opinions. No provision of this chapter imposing any liability applies to any act done or omitted in good faith in conformity with any rule, form, order, or written interpretive opinion of the commissioner or any opinion of the attorney general, notwithstanding that the rule, form, order, or written interpretive opinion may later be amended or rescinded or be determined by judicial or other authority to be invalid for any reason. Any condition, stipulation, or provision purporting to bind any person acquiring any franchise to waive compliance with any provision of this chapter or any rule or order hereunder is void. Every final order, decision, license, or other official act of the commissioner is subject to judicial review in accordance with chapter 28-32.