South Carolina Code 15-50-25. Structured settlement purchase company prohibitions
(1) pursue or complete a transfer with a payee without complying with all applicable provisions in this chapter;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 15-50-25
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Independent professional advice: means advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other licensed professional advisor. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Payee: means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and who proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under the settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Prospective payee: means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement pursuant to United States Code, title 26, § 130, and who has been personally and individually solicited by and has not yet proposed to transfer all or a portion of the structured settlement payment rights to a structured settlement purchase company. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Structured settlement: means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Structured settlement payment rights: means rights to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, if the:
(a) payee is domiciled in, or the domicile or principal place of business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is located in, this State; or
(b) structured settlement agreement was approved by a court in this State; or
(c) structured settlement agreement is governed expressly by the laws of this State. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20 - Structured settlement purchase company: means a person who acts as a transferee in the State and who is registered with the Secretary pursuant to § 15-50-80 through § 15-50-150. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Structured settlement transfer proceeding: means a court proceeding initiated by the filing of an application by a structured settlement purchase company seeking court approval of a transfer in accordance with this chapter. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transfer: means the sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration; except that the term "transfer" does not include the creation or perfection of a security interest in structured settlement payment rights under a blanket security agreement entered into with an insured depository institution, in the absence of an action to redirect the structured settlement payments to the insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest of it, or otherwise to enforce the blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transfer agreement: means the agreement providing for a transfer of structured settlement payment rights. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transfer expenses: means all expenses of a transfer that are required under the transfer agreement to be paid by the payee or deducted from the gross advance amount including, without limitation, court filing fees, attorneys' fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees, judgment and lien search fees, finder's fees, commissions, and other payments to a broker or other intermediary. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transferee: means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
(2) refuse or fail to fund a transfer after court approval of the transfer;
(3) acquire structured settlement payment rights from a payee without complying with all applicable provisions in this chapter, including obtaining court approval of the transfer;
(4) intentionally file a structured settlement transfer proceeding in any court other than the court specified in § 15-50-60;
(5) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, pay a commission or finder’s fee to any person for facilitating or arranging a structured settlement transfer with a payee. The provisions of this subsection do not prevent a structured settlement purchase company from paying:
(a) a commission or finder’s fee to a person who is a structured settlement purchase company or is an employee of a structured settlement purchase company;
(b) to third parties, any routine transfer expenses including, without limitation, court filing fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees, judgment and lien search fees, attorney’s fees and other similar types of fees relating to a transfer;
(6) intentionally advertise materially false or misleading information regarding its products or services;
(7) attempt to coerce, bribe, or intimidate a payee seeking to transfer structured settlement payment rights, including providing any gift, loan, extension of credit, advance, or other forms of consideration paid to or given to the payee as an inducement to enter a transfer agreement;
(8) attempt to defraud a payee or any party to a structured settlement transfer or any interested party in a structured settlement transfer proceeding by any means including, but not limited to, forgery or false identification;
(9) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, intervene in a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding if the transferee or structured settlement purchase company is not a party to the proceeding or an interested party relative to the proposed transfer which is the subject of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding. The provisions of this chapter do not prevent a structured settlement purchase company from intervening in a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding if the payee has signed a transfer agreement with the structured settlement purchase company within sixty days before the filing of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding and the structured settlement purchase company which filed the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding violated any provision of this chapter in connection with the proposed transfer that is the subject of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding;
(10) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, knowingly contact a payee who has signed a transfer agreement and is pursuing a proposed transfer with another structured settlement purchase company for the purpose of inducing the payee into canceling the proposed transfer or transfer agreement with the other structured settlement purchase company if a structured settlement transfer proceeding has been filed by the other structured settlement purchase company and is pending. The provisions of this subsection do not apply if a hearing has not been held in the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding within ninety days after the filing of the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding;
(11) fail to dismiss a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding at the request of the payee. A dismissal of a structured settlement proceeding after a structured settlement purchase company has violated the provisions of this clause does not exempt the structured settlement purchase company from any liability under this section;
(12) solicit a prospective payee through the conveyance of a document which resembles a check or other form of payment;
(13) provide a transfer agreement or related document that purports to give the transferee the first choice or option to purchase any remaining structured settlement payment rights belonging to the payee which are not subject to the structured settlement transfer proceeding; or
(14) communicate with a payee, a prospective payee, or a person associated with the payee:
(a) after the payee, a prospective payee, or a person associated with the payee has informed the structured settlement purchase company to cease further communication;
(b) at any unusual time, or at a time that the structured settlement purchase company knows is inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of the structured settlement purchase company’s knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a time before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. local time at the consumer’s location is inconvenient. This subsection will not apply to any payee, prospective payee, or person associated with the payee who has opted in and agreed to allow the structured settlement purchase company to contact the person when necessary; or
(c) repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass a payee, prospective payee, or a person associated with the payee.
(B) A transferee or structured settlement purchase company and an employee or other representative of a transferee or structured settlement purchase company shall not instruct a payee to hire, or directly refer a payee or a prospective payee to seek independent professional advice from, a specific person, except that a structured settlement purchase company may refer a payee to a state or local referral service, bar association, legal aid, or any other entity unrelated to the structured settlement purchase company. A person rendering independent professional advice to a payee or prospective payee is not to be affected by whether a transfer occurs or does not occur and must not in any manner be affiliated with or compensated by the transferee or a structured settlement purchase company unless ordered by the court.
(C) A payee may file a motion in the court in which the structured settlement transfer proceeding is pending alleging a violation of subsection (A) and may pursue all rights and remedies to which the payee may be entitled under this chapter or any other applicable law.
(D) A structured settlement purchase company may file a motion in the court in which the structured settlement transfer proceeding is pending to enforce items in subsection (A) and may pursue all remedies to which the structured settlement purchase company may be entitled pursuant to this chapter or any other applicable law.
(E) If a court finds that a structured settlement purchase company or transferee is in violation of this section, the court may:
(1) revoke the registration of the structured settlement purchase company;
(2) suspend the registration of the structured settlement purchase company for a period to be determined at the discretion of the court; and
(3) enjoin the structured settlement purchase company or transferee from filing new structured settlement transfer proceedings in this State or otherwise pursuing transfers in this State.