(A) A person aggrieved by the conduct of a registrant or licensee may seek recovery from the Vacation Time Sharing Recovery fund if:
(1) the facts giving rise to the applicant's claim occurred on or after January 1, 1982, and were based on a specific violation of this chapter;
(2) the applicant has made demand upon the registrant or licensee by certified mail, return receipt requested, for his actual damages and the demand has been refused or ignored;
(3) the applicant is not:
(a) related by blood or marriage to the registrant or licensee;
(b) registered or licensed pursuant to this chapter;
(c) the employer, principal, or broker in charge of the registrant or licensee; or
(d) a party jointly responsible for the claim; and
(4) application for recovery is made not later than one year from the date or discovery of the loss.
(B) Application for recovery must be made under oath and upon a form prescribed by the commission and containing the following minimum information:
(1) name and address of the applicant;
(2) name and address of the registrant or licensee and his last known working address;
(3) amount of recovery sought, together with evidence supporting the claim;
(4) copies of all complaints or other legal process initiated;
(5) disclosure of any partial satisfaction received, offered, or otherwise available from the registrant or licensee, his broker-in-charge, or from a bond or policy of insurance or other source; and
(6) a detailed statement of the events precipitating the loss, together with documents and other evidence supporting the claim.
(C) Upon receiving a claim in proper form, the commission shall forward the claim by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the registrant or licensee and to the broker-in-charge of the registrant or licensee. The registrant or licensee and the broker-in-charge shall file a verified answer to the claim within twenty days. If an answer is not filed within twenty days, the broker or registrant or licensee is in default and the commission shall schedule an arbitration of the claim. If the broker or registrant or licensee files a timely answer, the commission shall investigate the claim for a period not to exceed sixty days and after that promptly schedule an arbitration of the claim. The registrant or licensee, broker, commission, and claimant are entitled to present evidence, and question and cross examine witnesses as parties to the arbitration.
(D) Failure of the applicant to comply fully with this section is a waiver of all rights under the section.
HISTORY: 1981 Act No. 106, Section 5; 1994 Act No. 385, Section 51; 2003 Act No. 84, Section 1.