2019 Oregon Revised Statutes
Volume : 16 - Trade Practices, Labor and Employment
Chapter 646A - Trade Regulation
Section 646A.664 - Enforcement actions; penalties.
(1) If after conducting an investigation, initiating or conducting a proceeding or taking an enforcement action under ORS 646A.661 the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services determines that a licensee or a person that engages in debt buying in this state has violated ORS 646.639 or ORS 646A.640 to 646A.673 and 646A.670, a rule the director adopted or an order the director issued under ORS 646.639 or ORS 646A.640 to 646A.673 and 646A.670 or another applicable law, the director may:
(a) Order the licensee or the person to cease and desist from any act that constitutes the violation.
(b) Suspend, condition or revoke a licensee’s license or deny an application to obtain or renew a license under ORS 646A.646.
(c) Impose a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation after considering the severity of the violation, the intent of the licensee or person and any efforts the licensee or person made to remedy or mitigate the effects of the violation.
(d) Order the licensee or the person to disgorge and return all payments the licensee or person obtained from a debtor or another person in the course of or as a result of the violation.
(2) The director shall undertake an action described in this section in accordance with ORS chapter 183 and shall impose any civil penalty in accordance with ORS 183.745.
(3) Each instance in which the director determines a violation has occurred is a separate violation, and each day in which a person engages in a continuous violation is a separate violation. The director may not impose a penalty that exceeds $20,000 for a continuous violation.
(4) If the Department of Justice and the Department of Consumer and Business Services cooperate in an enforcement action under ORS 646A.661 that results in a civil penalty, the Attorney General and the director shall agree as to which of the two departments will impose the civil penalty.
(5) The director shall deposit any amount the director receives under this section to the Consumer and Business Services Fund as provided in ORS 705.145. [2017 c.625 §11]
