§ 7910. Enforcement provisions. (a) The superintendent may conduct
investigations or examinations of providers, administrators, insurers or
other persons to enforce the provisions of this article and protect
service contract holders in this state. Upon request of the
superintendent, the provider shall make all accounts, books and records
concerning service contracts sold in this state by the provider
available to the superintendent which are necessary to enable the
superintendent to reasonably determine compliance or noncompliance with
this article.

(b) The superintendent may take action which is necessary or
appropriate to enforce the provisions of this article and the
superintendent's regulations and orders, and to protect service contract
holders in this state.

(1) If the provider has violated this article or the superintendent's
regulations or orders, the superintendent may order a service contract
provider to cease and desist from committing violations of this article
or the superintendent's regulations or orders, may issue an order
suspending a provider's registration under this article or prohibiting a
service contract provider from marketing, selling, offering for sale,
issuing, making or proposing to make service contracts, or may issue an
order imposing a civil penalty, or any combination of these. An order
issued under this paragraph may be delivered to the provider at its
principal office or to the provider's designated agent for service of
process indicated in the provider's registration materials pursuant to
paragraph two of subsection (a) of section seven thousand nine hundred
seven of this article.

(A) A person aggrieved by an order issued under this paragraph may
request a hearing before the superintendent. The hearing request shall
be filed with the superintendent within twenty days of the date the
superintendent's order is effective;

(B) If a hearing is requested, an order issued under this paragraph
shall be suspended from the original effective date of the order until
completion of the hearing and delivery of the final decision thereon by
the superintendent, except that where the provider has demonstrated a
consistent pattern or practice of gross misconduct in connection with
the marketing, sale, offering for sale, issuance, making or proposing to
make of service contracts, the effective date of the order shall not be
suspended pending the hearing and decision by the superintendent; and

(C) At the hearing, the burden shall be on the superintendent to show
why the order issued pursuant to this paragraph is justified. The
provisions of section three hundred five of the financial services law
shall apply to a hearing requested under this paragraph.

(2) The superintendent may bring an action in any court of competent
jurisdiction for an injunction or other appropriate relief to enjoin
threatened or existing violations of this article or of the
superintendent's orders or regulations. An action filed under this
paragraph may also seek restitution on behalf of persons aggrieved by a
violation of this article or orders or regulations of the
superintendent.

(3) A person in violation of this article may be subject to a monetary
penalty of not more than five hundred dollars per violation. If the
violation is not willful, such person may in lieu of paying such
monetary penalty, provide restitution to the persons aggrieved by the
violation or otherwise remedy the violation within sixty days after
becoming aware of the violation.

(c) The authority of the superintendent under this section is in
addition to any other authority of the superintendent.