Nebraska Statutes 60-1411.02. Investigation; denial of application; revocation or suspension of license; probation; administrative fine; grounds
The board may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon a sworn complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions of any person acting, registered, or licensed under the Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act as a motor vehicle dealer, trailer dealer, dealer’s agent, manufacturer, factory branch, distributor, factory representative, distributor representative, supplemental motor vehicle dealer, wrecker or salvage dealer, finance company, motorcycle dealer, or motor vehicle auction dealer or operating without a registration or license when such registration or license is required. The board may deny any application for a license, may revoke or suspend a license, may place the licensee or registrant on probation, may assess an administrative fine in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars per violation, or may take any combination of such actions if the violator, applicant, registrant, or licensee including any officer, stockholder, partner, or limited liability company member or any person having any financial interest in the violator, applicant, registrant, or licensee:
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 60-1411.02
- Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Auction: means a sale of motor vehicles and trailers of types required to be registered in this state, except such vehicles as are eligible for registration pursuant to section Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.04
- Board: means the Nebraska Motor Vehicle Industry Licensing Board. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.06
- Company: shall include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Distributor: means a person, resident or nonresident of this state, who, in whole or in part, sells or distributes new motor vehicles, trailers, or motorcycles to dealers or who maintains distributors or representatives who sell or distribute motor vehicles, trailers, or motorcycles to dealers and also has the same meaning as the term franchisor. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.13
- Distributor representative: means a representative employed by a distributor or distributor branch for the same purpose as set forth in the definition of factory representative. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.14
- Factory branch: means a branch office maintained in this state by a person who manufactures, assembles, or distributes motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers for the sale of such motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers to distributors or dealers or for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, its representatives in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.16
- Factory representative: means a representative employed by a person who manufactures or assembles motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers, or by a factory branch, for the purpose of promoting the sale of its motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers to, or for supervising or contacting, its dealers or prospective dealers in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.17
- Finance company: means any person engaged in the business of financing sales of motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers, or purchasing or acquiring promissory notes, secured instruments, or other documents by which the motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers are pledged as security for payment of obligations arising from such sales and who may find it necessary to engage in the activity of repossession and the sale of the motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers so pledged. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.18
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Manufacturer: means any person, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, who is engaged in the business of distributing, manufacturing, or assembling a line-make of new motor vehicles, trailers, or motorcycles, and includes any such person who distributes such motor vehicles, trailers, or motorcycles directly or indirectly through one or more distributors to one or more new motor vehicle, trailer, or motorcycle dealers in this state. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.24
- Motor vehicle: means any vehicle for which evidence of title is required as a condition precedent to registration under the laws of this state but does not include trailers. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.25
- Motor vehicle dealer: means any person, other than a bona fide consumer, actively and regularly engaged in the act of selling, leasing for a period of thirty or more days, or exchanging new or used motor vehicles, trailers, and manufactured homes who buys, sells, exchanges, causes the sale of, or offers or attempts to sell new or used motor vehicles. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.26
- Motorcycle: means every motor vehicle, except a tractor, having a seat or saddle for use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground and for which evidence of title is required as a condition precedent to registration under the laws of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.28
- Person: means every natural person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.31
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Process: shall mean a summons, subpoena, or notice to appear issued out of a court in the course of judicial proceedings. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Sworn: shall include affirmed in all cases in which an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Trailer: means semitrailers and trailers as defined in sections Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.36
- Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
- Violator: means a person acting without a license or registration as required by the Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.39
- Wrecker or salvage dealer: means any person who acquires one or more motor vehicles or trailers for the purpose of dismantling them for the purpose of reselling the parts or reselling the vehicles as scrap. See Nebraska Statutes 60-1401.40
(1) Has had any license issued under the act revoked or suspended and, if the license has been suspended, has not complied with the terms of suspension;
(2) Has knowingly purchased, sold, or done business in stolen motor vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers or parts therefor;
(3) Has failed to provide and maintain an established place of business;
(4) Has been found guilty of any felony which has not been pardoned, has been found guilty of any misdemeanor concerning fraud or conversion, or has suffered any judgment in any civil action involving fraud, misrepresentation, or conversion. In the event felony charges are pending against an applicant, the board may refuse to issue a license to the applicant until there has been a final determination of the charges;
(5) Has made a false material statement in his or her application or any data attached to the application or to any investigator or employee of the board;
(6) Has willfully failed to perform any written agreement with any consumer or retail buyer;
(7) Has made a fraudulent sale, transaction, or repossession, or created a fraudulent security interest as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code, in a motor vehicle, trailer, or motorcycle;
(8) Has failed to notify the board of a change in the location of his or her established place or places of business;
(9) Has willfully failed to deliver to a purchaser a proper certificate of ownership for a motor vehicle, trailer, or motorcycle sold by the licensee or to refund the full purchase price if the purchaser cannot legally obtain proper certification of ownership within thirty days;
(10) Has forged the signature of the registered or legal owner on a certificate of title;
(11) Has failed to comply with the act and any orders, rules, or regulations of the board adopted and promulgated under the act;
(12) Has failed to comply with the advertising and selling standards established in section 60-1411.03 ;
(13) Has failed to comply with any provisions of the Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Act, the Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act, the Motor Vehicle Registration Act, or the rules or regulations adopted and promulgated by the board pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act;
(14) Has failed to comply with any provision of Chapter 71, article 46, or with any code, standard, rule, or regulation adopted or made under the authority of or pursuant to Chapter 71, article 46;
(15) Has willfully defrauded any retail buyer or other person in the conduct of the licensee’s business;
(16) Has failed to comply with sections 60-190 to 60-196 ;
(17) Has engaged in any unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices prohibited under the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act;
(18) Has conspired, as defined in section 28-202, with other persons to process certificates of title in violation of the Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Act; or
(19) Has violated the Guaranteed Asset Protection Waiver Act.
If the violator, applicant, registrant, or licensee is a publicly held corporation, the board’s authority shall extend only to the corporation and its managing officers and directors.