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.

Which One-Liners 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.

Which Numbers Matter Most?

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

What Is 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.

Which Gotchas Trip Students Up?

• 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; a summary suspension owes a hearing set within 15 days of a written request, and none if none is requested. 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 (5-year statute of limitations, $5,000 fine, 3 years imprisonment) and are referred out to prosecutors, while judicial review runs 60 days without an automatic stay.

Need more than the recap? Read the full Remedies and Administrative Provisions unit.