2013 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code
CHAPTER 5 - REMEDIES AND PENALTIES
SECTION 37-5-203. Civil liability for violation of disclosure provisions.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a creditor who, in violation of the provisions of the Federal Truth in Lending Act or Section 37-2-309 or 37-3-308, fails to disclose information to a person entitled to the information pursuant to this title is liable to that person in an amount equal to the sum of:

(a) twice the amount of the finance charge in connection with the transaction, but the liability pursuant to this item must be not less than one hundred dollars or more than one thousand dollars; and

(b) in the case of a successful action to enforce the liability pursuant to item (a), the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.

(2) With respect to disclosures required by Section 37-2-301 or 37-3-301, a creditor has no liability pursuant to this section if, within sixty days after discovering an error, and before the institution of an action pursuant to this section or the receipt of written notice of the error, the creditor notifies the person of the error and makes necessary adjustments in the appropriate account to assure that the person is not required to pay a finance charge in excess of the amount of percentage rate actually disclosed. With respect to disclosures required by Section 37-2-309 or 37-3-308, a creditor has the liability stated in subsection (1)(a) if:

(a) the creditor fails to give the disclosures required by Section 37-2-309 or 37-3-308; or

(b) the disclosures required by Section 37-2-309(C) or 37-3-308(C) are provided but vary from the disclosures given at consummation pursuant to Section 37-2-301 or 37-3-301; if the cure or correction provisions of this subsection do not apply to those violations; and except that a lender is not liable unless the credit sale or loan transaction is consummated.

(3) A creditor may not be held liable in any action brought under this section for a violation of this title if the creditor shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid the error.

(4) Any action which may be brought under this section against the original creditor in any credit transaction involving a security interest in land may be maintained against any subsequent assignee of the original creditor where the assignee, its subsidiaries, or affiliates were in a continuing business relationship with the original creditor either at the time the credit was extended or at the time of the assignment, unless the assignment was involuntary, or the assignee shows by a preponderance of evidence that it did not have reasonable grounds to believe that the original creditor was engaged in violations of this title and that it maintained procedures reasonably adapted to apprise it of the existence of the violations.

(5) No action pursuant to this section may be brought more than one year after the date of the occurrence of the violation.

(6) In this section, creditor includes a person who in the ordinary course of business regularly extends or arranges for the extension of credit, or offers to arrange for the extension of credit. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall be construed to impose civil liability or penalties on an arranger of credit when disclosure constituting a violation of the Federal Truth in Lending Act is actually committed by another person and the arranger of credit has no knowledge of the violation when it occurred. The creditor shall provide a copy of the final closing documents to the arranger of credit.

(7) The liability of the creditor under this section is in lieu of and not in addition to his liability under the Federal Truth in Lending Act; no action with respect to the same violation may be maintained pursuant to both this section and the Federal Truth in Lending Act.

(8) The right of a person to sue for a violation of Section 37-2-309 or 37-3-308 is maintainable only as an individual action.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.353; 1974 (58) 2879; 1982 Act No. 385, Section 49; 1996 Act No. 430, Section 1; 2003 Act No. 42, Sections 3.C, 3.D, eff January 1, 2004.