(a) The commissioner may conduct an investigation to determine whether any provisions of this chapter have been or are about to be violated by a licensee. Any investigation shall be kept confidential by the commissioner and the division, unless and until the commissioner suspends or revokes the license certificate of the licensee involved or fines the licensee: Provided, That the commissioner may advise the Motor Vehicle Dealers Advisory Board of pending actions and may disclose to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Advisory Board any information that enables it to perform its advisory function in imposing penalties. The commissioner may suspend or revoke a license certificate, suspend a special dealer plate or plates, impose a fine or take any combination of these actions if the commissioner finds that the licensee:

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 17A-6-18

  • Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles of this state. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • dealers: is a general term meaning, depending upon the context in which used, either a new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, factory-built home dealer, recreational vehicle dealer, trailer dealer or motorcycle dealer, as defined in §. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • Division: means the Division of Motor Vehicles of this state acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • Established place of business: means , in the case of a new motor vehicle dealer, a permanent location, not a temporary stand or other temporary quarters, owned or leased by the licensee or applicant and actually occupied or to be occupied by him or her, as the case may be, which is or is to be used exclusively for the purpose of selling new motor vehicles or new and used motor vehicles, which shall have space under roof for the display of at least one new motor vehicle and facilities and space therewith for the servicing and repair of at least one motor vehicle, which servicing and repair facilities and space is adequate and suitable to carry out servicing and to make repairs necessary to keep and carry out all representations, warranties, and agreements made or to be made by the dealer with respect to motor vehicles sold by him or her, which is easily accessible to the public, which conforms to all applicable laws of this state and the ordinances of the municipality in which it is located, if any, which displays thereon at least one permanent sign, clearly visible from the principal public street or highway nearest the location and clearly stating the business which is or shall be conducted thereat, and which has adequate facilities to keep, maintain and preserve records, papers and documents necessary to carry on the business and to make the business available to inspection by the commissioner at all reasonable times: Provided, That each established place of business shall have a display area which may be outside or inside or a combination thereof of at least 1,200 square feet which is to be used exclusively for the display of vehicles which are offered for sale by the dealer, office space of at least 144 square feet and a telephone listed in the name of the dealership. See West Virginia Code 17A-6-1
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Licensee: means any person holding any license certificate issued under the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 17A-6-1
  • Motor vehicle: means every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • Motorcycle: means every motor vehicle, including motor-driven cycles and mopeds as defined in §. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • New motor vehicle dealer: means every person (other than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling five or more new motor vehicles or new and used motor vehicles in any fiscal year of a type required to be registered under the provisions of this chapter, except, for the purposes of this article only, motorcycles. See West Virginia Code 17A-6-1
  • Person: means every natural person, firm, copartnership, association, or corporation. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • Trailer: means every vehicle with or without motive power designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle but excluding recreational vehicles. See West Virginia Code 17A-1-1
  • Trailer dealer: means every person (other than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling new or used trailers. See West Virginia Code 17A-6-1
  • Used motor vehicle dealer: means every person (other than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling 10 or more used motor vehicles, and projecting to sell 10 or more used motor vehicles, in any fiscal year of a type required to be registered under the provisions of this chapter, except, for the purposes of this article only, motorcycles. See West Virginia Code 17A-6-1
  • Used parts dealer: means every person (other than agents and employees, if any, while acting within the scope of their authority or employment), engaged in, or held out to the public to be engaged in, the business in this state of selling any used appliance, accessory, member, portion, or other part of any vehicle. See West Virginia Code 17A-6-1

(1) Has failed or refused to comply with the laws of this state relating to the registration and titling of vehicles and the giving of notices of transfers, the provisions and requirements of this article, or any reasonable rules authorized in section nine, article two of this chapter and promulgated to implement the provisions of this article by the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code;

(2) Has given any check in the payment of any fee required under the provisions of this chapter which is dishonored;

(3) In the case of a dealer, has knowingly made or permitted any unlawful use of any dealer special plate or plates issued to him or her;

(4) In the case of a dealer, has a dealer special plate or plates to which he or she is not lawfully entitled;

(5) Has knowingly made false statement of a material fact in his or her application for the license certificate then issued and outstanding;

(6) Has habitually defaulted on financial obligations;

(7) Does not have and maintain at each place of business (subject to the qualification contained in subdivision (17), subsection (a), section one of this article with respect to a new motor vehicle dealer) an established place of business as defined for the business in question in section one of this article;

(8) Has been guilty of any fraudulent act in connection with the business of new motor vehicle dealer, used motor vehicle dealer, house trailer dealer, trailer dealer, motorcycle dealer, used parts dealer or wrecker or dismantler;

(9) Has defrauded or is attempting to defraud any buyer or any other person, to the damage of the buyer or other person, in the conduct of the licensee's business;

(10) Has defrauded or is attempting to defraud the state or any political subdivision of the state of any taxes or fees in connection with the sale or transfer of any vehicle;

(11) Has committed fraud in the registration of a vehicle;

(12) Has knowingly purchased, sold or otherwise dealt in a stolen vehicle or vehicles;

(13) Has advertised by any means, with intent to defraud, any material representation or statement of fact which is untrue, misleading or deceptive in any particular relating to the conduct of the licensed business;

(14) Has willfully failed or refused to perform any legally binding written agreement with any buyer;

(15) Has made a fraudulent sale or purchase;

(16) Has failed or refused to assign, reassign or transfer a proper certificate of title;

(17) Has a license certificate to which he or she is not lawfully entitled;

(18) Has misrepresented a customer's credit or financial status to obtain financing;

(19) Has failed to reimburse, when ordered, any claim against the dealer recovery fund as prescribed in section two-a of this article; or

(20) Has employed unlicensed salespersons in violation of article six-e of this chapter on or after January 1, 2008.

(b) The commissioner shall also suspend or revoke the license certificate of a licensee if he or she finds the existence of any ground upon which the license certificate could have been refused or any ground which would be cause for refusing a license certificate to the licensee were he or she then applying for the license certificate.

(c) Whenever a licensee fails to keep the bond, unless exempt from the requirement pursuant to section two-a of this article or liability insurance required by section four of this article, in full force and effect, or fails to provide evidence of the bond or liability insurance, the commissioner shall automatically suspend the license certificate of the licensee unless and until a bond or certificate of insurance as required by section four of this article is furnished to the commissioner. When the licensee furnishes the bond or certificate of insurance to the commissioner and pays all reinstatement fees, the commissioner shall vacate the suspension.

(d) Suspensions under this section shall continue until the cause for the suspension has been eliminated or corrected. Revocation of a license certificate does not preclude application for a new license certificate. The commissioner shall process the application for a new license certificate in the same manner and issue or refuse to issue the license certificate on the same grounds as any other application for a license certificate is processed, considered and passed upon, except that the commissioner may give any previous suspension and the revocation such weight in deciding whether to issue or refuse the license certificate as is correct and proper under all of the circumstances.

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