Oklahoma § 36-6659 - Examination and enforcement by Commissioner - Notice and

§ 36-6659. Examination and enforcement by Commissioner - Notice and

hearing - Civil penalty.

A. The Insurance Commissioner may conduct examinations of

warrantors, administrators, or other persons to enforce the Vehicle

Protection Product Act and protect warranty holders in this state.

Upon request of the Commissioner, a warrantor shall make available

for the Commissioner all accounts, books, and records concerning

vehicle protection products sold by the warrantor that are necessary

to enable the Commissioner to reasonably determine compliance or

noncompliance with the Vehicle Protection Product Act. The

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 36. Insurance

examination shall be conducted pursuant to Sections 309.1 through

309.7 of Title 36 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

B. The Commissioner may take action that is necessary or

appropriate to enforce the provisions of the Vehicle Protection

Product Act and the Commissioner’s rules and orders and to protect

warranty holders in this state. If a warrantor engages in a pattern

or practice of conduct that violates the Vehicle Protection Product

Act and that the Commissioner reasonably believes threatens to

render the warrantor insolvent or cause irreparable loss or injury

to the property or business of any person or company located in this

state, the Commissioner may:

1. Issue an order directed to that warrantor to cease and

desist from engaging in further acts, practices, or transactions

that are causing the conduct;

2. Issue an order prohibiting that warrantor from selling or

offering for sale vehicle protection products in violation of the

Vehicle Protection Product Act;

3. Issue an order imposing a civil penalty on that warrantor;

or

4. Issue any combination of the foregoing, as applicable.

C. Prior to the effective date of any order issued pursuant to

this section, the Commissioner must provide written notice of the

order to the warrantor and the opportunity for a hearing to be set

within ten (10) business days after receipt of the notice, except

prior notice and hearing shall not be required if the Commissioner

reasonably believes that the warrantor has become, or is about to

become, insolvent.

D. A person aggrieved by an order issued under this section may

request a hearing before the Commissioner. The hearing request

shall be filed with the Commissioner within twenty (20) days after

the date the Commissioner’s order is effective, and the Commissioner

must set such a hearing within fifteen (15) days after the receipt

of the hearing request.

E. At the hearing, the burden shall be on the Commissioner to

show why the order issued pursuant to this section is justified.

The provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act shall apply to a

hearing request under this section.

F. The Commissioner may bring an action in any court of

competent jurisdiction for an injunction or other appropriate relief

to enjoin threatened or existing violations of the Vehicle

Protection Product Act or of the Commissioner’s orders or rules. An

action filed under this section also may seek restitution on behalf

of persons aggrieved by a violation of the Vehicle Protection

Product Act or orders or rules of the Commissioner.

G. A person who is found to have violated provisions of the

Vehicle Protection Product Act or orders or rules of the

Commissioner may be ordered to pay to the Commissioner a civil

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 36. Insurance

penalty in an amount, determined by the Commissioner, of not more

than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per violation and not more than

Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in the aggregate for all

violations of a similar nature. For purposes of this section,

violations shall be of a similar nature if the violation consists of

the same or similar course of conduct, action, or practice,

irrespective of the number of times the conduct, action, or practice

that is determined to be a violation of the Vehicle Protection

Product Act occurred.

Added by Laws 2008, c. 353, § 11, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.