§482E-5 General provisions. (a) Every person selling franchises in this State shall at all times keep and maintain a complete set of books, records, and accounts of such sales and shall thereafter at such times as are required by the director make and file in the office of the director a report setting forth the franchises sold by it and the proceeds derived therefrom.

(b) It is unlawful for any person in connection with the offer, sale, or purchase of any franchise directly or indirectly:

(1) To make any untrue statement of a material fact in any offering circular or report filed with the director under this chapter or wilfully to omit to state in any offering circular or report, any material fact which is required to be stated therein.

(2) To sell or offer to sell a franchise in this State by means of any written or oral communication which includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made in light of the circumstances under which they were made not misleading.

(3) To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud.

(4) To engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.

(5) To violate any order of the director.

(c) Any person who is engaged or hereafter engaged directly or indirectly in the sale of a franchise or in business dealings concerning a franchise, either in person or in any other form of communication, shall be subject to this chapter, shall be amenable to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State, and shall be amenable to the service of process as provided by law and rule. Every person who sells a franchise in this State shall file with the director in such form as the director by rule prescribes, an irrevocable consent appointing the commissioner or the commissioner's successor in office to be the person's attorney, to receive service or any lawful process in any noncriminal suit, action, or proceeding against the person or the person's successor, executor, administrator, or personal representative which arises under this chapter or any rule or order hereunder after the consent has been filed, with the same force and validity as if served personally on the person filing consent. A person who has filed such a consent in connection with a previous sale under this law need not file another. Service may be made by leaving a copy of the process in the office of the commissioner but is not effective unless:

(1) The plaintiff, who may be the director, in a suit, action, or proceeding instituted by the plaintiff forthwith sends notice of the service and a copy of the process by registered or certified mail to the defendant or respondent at the defendant's or respondent's last address on file with the director; and

(2) The plaintiff's affidavit of compliance with this section is filed in the case on or before the return day of the process, if any, or within such further times the court allows.

(d) In any proceeding under this chapter, the burden of proving an exception or an exemption from a definition is upon the person claiming it. [L 1974, c 18, pt of §1; am L 1976, c 200, pt of §1; am L 1978, c 242, §6; gen ch 1985; am L 2004, c 121, §53]