39:10-20 Fine, suspension, revocation of license; rules, regulations.

39:10-20. The chief administrator may impose a fine not to exceed $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for any subsequent offense upon the holder of a license for a violation of any provision of this chapter. The board is authorized to adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), implementing the provisions of this chapter and authorizing the chief administrator to impose fines for the violation of these rules and regulations. The chief administrator may suspend for a period less than the unexpired term of a license or revoke a license, after hearing, for a violation of any provision of this chapter, or for a violation of the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, or upon the final conviction of the licensee of a crime, arising out of fraud or misrepresentation in the sale, leasing or financing of a motor vehicle, or upon proof of the failure of a licensee to make payment of the amount of any final judgment, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction against such licensee and founded upon a claim arising out of fraud or misrepresentation in the sale or leasing of a motor vehicle, within 90 days after the same is finally entered, or for final conviction of the licensee for violating any provision of chapter 171 of Title 2A or of any supplement thereof (Observance of Sabbath Days). The clerk of the court in which any conviction is rendered, or the court where it has no clerk, shall forward to the chief administrator, immediately upon the entry thereof, a certified copy of the conviction or a transcript thereof. The clerk of the court in which any judgment founded upon fraud or misrepresentation is rendered, or the court where it has no clerk, shall forward to the chief administrator, immediately after the expiration of the 90 days, a certified copy of the judgment, or a transcript thereof, showing it to have been unsatisfied more than 90 days after it became final. The chief administrator shall, before suspending or revoking the license, and at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing, notify the holder of the license, in writing, of any charges made, and shall afford him an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel. The written notice may be served either personally or by registered mail addressed to the last-known address of the licensee. The chief administrator may subpoena and bring before the chief administrator any person in this State, or take testimony by deposition, in the same manner as prescribed by law in judicial proceedings in the courts of this State, and shall also issue and deliver to the dealer such subpoenas as are requested by the chief administrator. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court shall have power to review, by an appeal in lieu of prerogative writ taken by an aggrieved person, a final determination of the chief administrator.

Any fine imposed and collected pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the commission and used to defray the costs of the commission.

Amended 1946, c.136, s.16; 1953, c.36, s.35; 1955, c.253; 1994, c.190, s.10; 2007, c.335, s.26.