2006 Utah Code - 61-2-11 — Investigations -- Subpoena power of division -- Grounds for disciplinary action.

     61-2-11.   Investigations -- Subpoena power of division -- Grounds for disciplinary action.
     The division may investigate or cause to be investigated the actions of any principal broker, associate broker, sales agent, real estate school, course provider, or school instructor licensed or certified by this state, or of any applicant for licensure or certification, or of any person who acts in any of those capacities within this state. The division is empowered to subpoena witnesses, take evidence, and require by subpoena duces tecum the production of books, papers, contracts, records, other documents, or information considered relevant to the investigation. The division may serve subpoenas by certified mail. Each failure to respond to a subpoena is considered as a separate violation of this chapter. The commission, with the concurrence of the director, may impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $2,500 per violation, impose educational requirements, and suspend, revoke, place on probation, or deny renewal, reinstatement, or reissuance of any license or any certification if at any time the licensee or certificate holder, whether acting as an agent or on his own account, is found guilty of:
     (1) making any substantial misrepresentation;
     (2) making any false promises of a character likely to influence, persuade, or induce;
     (3) pursuing a continued and flagrant course of misrepresentation, or of making false promises through agents, sales agents, advertising, or otherwise;
     (4) acting for more than one party in a transaction without the informed consent of all parties;
     (5) (a) acting as an associate broker or sales agent while not licensed with a licensed principal broker;
     (b) representing or attempting to represent a broker other than the principal broker with whom the person is affiliated; or
     (c) representing as sales agent or having a contractual relationship similar to that of sales agent with other than a licensed principal broker;
     (6) (a) failing, within a reasonable time, to account for or to remit any monies coming into the person's possession that belong to others;
     (b) commingling the funds described in Subsection (6)(a) with the person's own; or
     (c) diverting the funds described in Subsection (6)(a) from the purpose for which they were received;
     (7) paying or offering to pay valuable consideration, as defined by the commission, to any person not licensed under this chapter, except that valuable consideration may be shared:
     (a) with a licensed principal broker of another jurisdiction; or
     (b) as provided under:
     (i) Title 16, Chapter 10a, Utah Revised Business Corporation Act;
     (ii) Title 16, Chapter 11, Professional Corporation Act; or
     (iii) Title 48, Chapter 2c, Utah Revised Limited Liability Company Act;
     (8) being unworthy or incompetent to act as a principal broker, associate broker, or sales agent in such manner as to safeguard the interests of the public;
     (9) failing to voluntarily furnish copies of all documents to all parties executing the documents;
     (10) failing to keep and make available for inspection by the division a record of each transaction, including:

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     (a) the names of buyers and sellers or lessees and lessors;
     (b) the identification of the property;
     (c) the sale or rental price;
     (d) any monies received in trust;
     (e) any agreements or instructions from buyers and sellers or lessees and lessors; and
     (f) any other information required by rule;
     (11) failing to disclose, in writing, in the purchase, sale, or rental of property, whether the purchase, sale, or rental is made for himself or for an undisclosed principal;
     (12) regardless of whether the crime was related to real estate, being convicted of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude within five years of the most recent application, including a conviction based upon a plea of nolo contendere, or a plea held in abeyance to a criminal offense involving moral turpitude;
     (13) advertising the availability of real estate or the services of a licensee in a false, misleading, or deceptive manner;
     (14) in the case of a principal broker or a licensee who is a branch manager, failing to exercise reasonable supervision over the activities of the principal broker's or branch manager's licensees and any unlicensed staff;
     (15) violating or disregarding this chapter, an order of the commission, or the rules adopted by the commission and the division;
     (16) breaching a fiduciary duty owed by a licensee to the licensee's principal in a real estate transaction;
     (17) any other conduct which constitutes dishonest dealing;
     (18) unprofessional conduct as defined by statute or rule; or
     (19) suspension, revocation, surrender, or cancellation of a real estate license issued by another jurisdiction, or of another professional license issued by this or another jurisdiction, based on misconduct in a professional capacity that relates to character, honesty, integrity, or truthfulness.

Amended by Chapter 198, 2006 General Session