§ 5-38-19 - Criminal penalties for violations – Injunctive relief.
SECTION 5-38-19
§ 5-38-19 Criminal penalties forviolations – Injunctive relief. – (a) Any person, firm, or corporation required to be licensed under this chapterwho conducts an automobile body repair shop business without obtaining alicense, or who after the denial, suspension, or revocation of a licenseconducts that business, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction,be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), orimprisonment for not more than one year, or both; for a second conviction, isguilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of notless than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not more than five thousand dollars($5,000), or by imprisonment for not more than two (2) years, or both; and fora third and subsequent conviction, is guilty of a felony and shall, uponconviction, be punished by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars($2,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment fornot less than two (2) years nor more than five (5) years, or both. For thepurposes of this section, a plea of nolo contendere with probation shall beconsidered a conviction.
(b) If the department of business regulation has reason tobelieve that any person, firm, corporation, or association is conducting anautomobile body repair shop business without obtaining a license, or who afterthe denial, suspension, or revocation of a license is conducting that business,the department may issue its order to that person, firm, corporation, orassociation commanding them to appear before the department at a hearing to beheld not sooner than ten (10) days nor later than twenty (20) days afterissuance of that order to show cause why the department should not issue anorder to that person to cease and desist from the violation of the provisionsof this chapter. That order to show cause may be served on any person, firm,corporation, or association named by any person in the same manner that asummons in a civil action may be served, or by mailing a copy of the order,certified mail, return receipt requested, to that person at any address atwhich that person has done business or at which that person lives. If duringthat hearing the department is satisfied that the person is in fact violatingany provision of this chapter, the department may order that person, inwriting, to cease and desist from that violation. All these hearings aregoverned in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 oftitle 42. If that person fails to comply with an order of the department afterbeing afforded a hearing, the superior court for Providence County hasjurisdiction upon complaint of the department to restrain and enjoin thatperson from violating this chapter.