Remedies and Administrative Provisions

The whole unit on one sheet: who has power, what only a court can do, the penalties, and the deadlines the exam loves.

The One-Liners That Win Points

• The Administrator is a quasi-judicial regulator: it can investigate, subpoena, make rules, issue cease-and-desist orders, and deny/suspend/revoke registrations.
• The Administrator CANNOT grant injunctions, impose fines, order restitution or disgorgement, appoint a receiver, or imprison anyone. Those belong to a court.
• A cease-and-desist order may be issued with or without a prior hearing; the Administrator alone can do it.
• An injunction always comes from a court, never the Administrator. The Administrator asks the court for it (no bond required).
• Denial, suspension, or revocation needs the two-part test: public interest AND at least one listed statutory ground. Neither prong alone is enough.
• Revocation is the Administrator's strongest unilateral tool against a person; it needs no court.
• Cancellation (registrant gone, incompetent, or unlocatable) is non-disciplinary; withdrawal is voluntary.
• Summary (emergency) suspension needs no prior hearing, but the Administrator sets a hearing within 15 days of a written request.
• Criminal penalties require willful conduct; the Administrator refers cases to the attorney general or district attorney (it never prosecutes).
• Civil liability lets a defrauded buyer rescind: tender the security back and recover the purchase price plus interest, minus income received.
• Judicial review: any aggrieved person appeals a final order to the court; filing an appeal does NOT automatically stay the order.

Numbers to Lock In

Spell out the abbreviation: statute of limitations (SOL).

Memory Aid: The 5-5-3 Criminal Rule

• 5-5-3: $5,000 fine, 5-year statute of limitations, 3 years prison. All the numbers are 5 or under.

Top Gotchas

• The Administrator issues cease-and-desist orders, but a COURT issues injunctions. This distinction is the single most-tested point in the unit.
• The Administrator cannot award damages, order restitution, or imprison. It refers criminal matters out and seeks monetary relief from a court.
• Civil SOL is whichever comes first. Discover fraud 2.5 years after the sale and only 6 months remain (to the 3-year mark); past 3 years from sale, the buyer is time-barred regardless of the discovery date.
• Rescission silence cuts both ways. A buyer who still owns the security and stays silent for 30 days LOSES the right to sue; a buyer who already sold must affirmatively reject in writing within 30 days to preserve it.
• Filing for judicial review does not pause the order. A suspended person cannot keep operating during the appeal unless the court specifically grants a stay.
• Criminal liability is willful only. Inadvertent violations are not crimes; the Administrator still can't hand out the fine or prison term itself.

One-Breath Recap

The Administrator investigates, subpoenas, makes rules, and issues cease-and-desist orders with or without a hearing, but only a court grants injunctions, imposes fines, orders restitution, or imprisons. Administrative actions (denial, suspension, revocation) demand both public interest and a listed ground; summary suspensions still owe a hearing within 15 days. Civil liability lets a defrauded buyer rescind, recovering price plus interest minus income, under a statute of limitations of the earlier of 3 years from sale or 2 years from discovery, with a 30-day rescission-offer window. Criminal penalties follow the 5-5-3 rule (referred out to prosecutors), and judicial review runs 60 days without an automatic stay.

Need more than the recap? This is a condensed summary. If it is not enough, read the full Remedies and Administrative Provisions unit for the complete lesson.