§34-27-69. Surety bond; suspension, etc., of license for violation of article; reinstatement; relicensure; board must be notified of initiation, etc., of legal action.

(a) Every applicant for a license under this article, either original or renewal, shall furnish a surety bond payable to the State of Alabama in the amount of $5,000 if a time-sharing salesman or $10,000 if a broker, with a surety company authorized to do business in Alabama, which bond shall provide that the obligor therein will pay up to $5,000 or $10,000, respectively, the aggregate sum of all judgments which may be recovered against such licensee for actual loss or damage arising from his or her activities conducted under this article. Said bond shall be filed with the Alabama Real Estate Commission prior to the issuance of such license. A new bond or a renewal or continuation of the original bond shall be required for each licensing period. If a continuous bond is filed with the commission prior to the issuance of such license, no such renewal bond must be filed as long as the continuous bond remains in force and effect. In the event the continuous bond is revoked by the surety company, it shall immediately notify the commission and the licensee shall have 20 days in which to file another bond with the Alabama Real Estate Commission or his or her license shall be suspended until such new bond is filed.

(b) If at any time a final judgment is rendered against a licensee under this article and the final judgment shall result from or involve any activity covered by this article, the license of the licensee shall be automatically suspended. A judgment shall be considered final when no further relief is available from the judgment in the appellate courts of Alabama. In case of such suspension of license, the commission shall give notice to the licensee that his or her license is suspended, and the licensee shall deliver this license to the commission for disposition. Upon request by the suspended licensee, the commission will set a date designating a time and place thereon for a hearing on the question of whether the license under suspension should be revoked, whether the suspension should be continued for a designated period or whether the suspension should be continued until terminated by the commission upon the fulfillment of reasonable conditions imposed by the commission. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with Section 34-27-37 and such appropriate rules and regulations as may be adopted from time to time by the Alabama Real Estate Commission. No licensee under this article whose license hereunder has been revoked may apply for another license hereunder until at least two years after the date of such revocation; and, in the event of such application for reinstatement, he or she shall meet all the requirements imposed upon an original applicant for a license under this article; and, furthermore, shall not be relicensed without approval of such relicensing by a majority of the members of the Alabama Real Estate Commission.

(c) Every licensee under this article shall be required to notify the Alabama Real Estate Commission of any civil or criminal action filed or initiated against such licensee within 10 days of the receipt of notice by the licensee of the pending civil or criminal action when the civil or criminal action involves a transaction under this article, or involves the indebtedness of the licensee concerning expenses incurred in the development or continuation of a time-sharing plan, or involves an alleged act of fraud, theft, misrepresentation, embezzlement, or extortion, or involves an alleged felony. The notification shall be in writing and shall include a copy of any civil complaint or other document alleging a complaint or criminal offense; or, if the licensee is not in possession of such legal documents, the notification shall include a notarized statement by the licensee of the substance of the civil or criminal action.

(d) Every licensee under this article shall be required to notify the Alabama Real Estate Commission of the outcome of any civil or criminal action of the type described in subsection (c) of this section within 10 days of the notice to the licensee of such outcome. This notification shall be in writing and shall include a copy of any judgment, order, or other pertinent document issued by the court having jurisdiction of the matter; or, if licensee is not in possession of such legal documents, the notification shall include a notarized statement by the licensee of the nature of the verdict, settlement, dismissal, or other outcome of the subject civil or criminal action.

(Acts 1983, No. 83-670, p. 1035, §20.)