A. Renewal of a license originally granted under the Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act may be denied or a license may be suspended or revoked by the director on any of the following grounds:
(1) material misstatement in application for license;
(2) willful failure to comply with any provision of that act relating to retail installment contracts;
(3) defrauding any retail buyer to the buyer's detriment while a licensee under that act;
(4) fraudulent misrepresentation, circumvention or concealment by the licensee through whatever subterfuge or device of any of the material particulars required to be stated or furnished to the retail buyer under that act; or
(5) during the course of examination, the licensee intentionally furnished the examiner or duly authorized representative with false or misleading information so as to prevent discovery of apparent violations of that act.
B. If a licensee is a firm, association or corporation, it shall be sufficient cause for the suspension or revocation of a license that any officer, director or trustee of a licensed firm, association or corporation, or any member of a licensed partnership, has acted or failed to act in the conduct of the business under its license as would be cause for suspending or revoking a license to the person as an individual. Each licensee shall be responsible for the acts of any of its employees while acting as its agent, if the licensee after actual knowledge of the acts retained the benefits, proceeds, profits or advantages accruing from the acts or otherwise ratified the acts.
C. No license shall be denied, suspended or revoked except after hearing. The director shall give the licensee at least ten days' written notice, in the form of an order to show cause, of the time and place of the hearing by certified mail addressed to the principal place of business. The notice shall contain the grounds of complaint against the licensee. Any order suspending or revoking a license shall recite the grounds upon which the order is based. The order shall be entered upon the records of the director and shall not be effective until after thirty days' written notice thereof, given after the entry, forwarded by certified mail to the licensee at his principal place of business. No revocation, suspension or surrender of any license shall impair or affect the obligation of any lawful retail installment contract acquired previously by the licensee.
D. A person aggrieved by the denial, suspension or revocation of a license may file an appeal to the district court pursuant to the provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.
E. The director shall publish a notice that a license has been revoked or suspended within thirty days after the revocation or suspension in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the licensee was doing business.
History: 1953 Comp., § 50-15-4, enacted by Laws 1959, ch. 204, § 4; 1979, ch. 388, § 3; 1998, ch. 55, § 58; 1999, ch. 265, § 62.
ANNOTATIONSThe 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, substituted "Section 39-3-1.1" for "Section 12-8A-1" in Subsection D.
The 1998 amendment, effective September 1, 1998, in the section heading, inserted "; appeals"; in Subparagraph A(3), substituted "under that act" for "hereunder"; in Subsection C, deleted "thereon" following "hearing"; deleted Subsection D, inserted a new Subsection D and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 51 Am. Jur. 2d Licenses and Permits § 58.
53 C.J.S. Licenses §§ 38, 39, 50 to 52, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 62.