(A) After demand, the administrator may bring a civil action against a creditor or a person subject to this title to recover actual
damages sustained and excess charges paid by one or more consumers who have a right to recover explicitly granted by this title. In a civil action pursuant to this subsection, penalties must not be recovered by the administrator. The court shall order amounts recovered pursuant to this subsection to be paid to each consumer or set off against his
obligation. A consumer’s action, except a class action, takes precedence over a prior or subsequent action by the administrator with respect to the claim of that consumer. A consumer’s class action takes precedence over a subsequent action by the administrator with respect to claims common to both actions, but the administrator may intervene. An administrator’s action on behalf of a class of consumers takes precedence over a consumer’s subsequent class action with respect to claims common to both actions. Whenever an action takes precedence over another action pursuant to this subsection, the latter action may be stayed to the extent appropriate while the
precedent action is pending and dismissed if the precedent action is dismissed with prejudice or results in a final judgment granting or denying the claim asserted in the precedent action. A defense available to a respondent in a civil action brought by a consumer under this title is available to him in a civil action brought pursuant to this subsection.
(B) The administrator may bring a civil action against a creditor, a person acting in his behalf, or a person subject to this title to recover a civil penalty of no more than five thousand dollars for repeatedly and intentionally violating this title. A civil penalty pursuant to this subsection must not be imposed for a violation of this title occurring more than two years before the action is brought.
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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 37-6-113
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
(C) The administrator may bring a civil action or an administrative action, as provided in § 37-6-108, against a creditor for failure to file notification in accordance with the provisions on notification pursuant to § 37-6-202 or to pay fees in accordance with the provisions on fees pursuant to § 37-6-203 to recover the fees the defendant has failed to pay and a civil penalty in an amount determined by the court not exceeding the greater of three times the amount of fees the defendant has failed to pay or one thousand dollars.
