North Dakota Code 26.1-02.2-07 – Confidentiality
1. Any documents, materials, or other information in the control or possession of the department which are furnished by a licensee, or an employee or agent thereof acting on behalf of a licensee pursuant to this chapter, or that are obtained by the commissioner in an investigation or examination pursuant to section 26.1-02.2-06 are confidential, not subject to chapter 44-04, not subject to subpoena, and are not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. The commissioner may use the documents, materials, or other information in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as a part of the commissioner’s duties. The commissioner may not otherwise make the documents, materials, or other information public without the prior written consent of the licensee.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 26.1-02.2-07
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- 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.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
2. The commissioner or any person that received documents, materials, or other information while acting under the authority of the commissioner may not be permitted or required to testify in any private civil action concerning any confidential documents, materials, or information subject to subsection 1.
3. In order to assist in the performance of the commissioner’s duties the commissioner:
a. May share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection 1, with other state, federal, and international regulatory agencies, with the national association of insurance commissioners, its affiliates or subsidiaries, and with state, federal, and international law enforcement authorities, provided the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information; b. May receive documents, materials, or information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, from the national association of insurance commissioners, its affiliates or subsidiaries, and from regulatory and law enforcement officials of other foreign or domestic jurisdictions, and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any document, material, or information received with notice or the understanding that it is confidential or privileged under the laws of the jurisdiction that is the source of the document, material, or information; c. May share documents, materials, or other information subject to this section, with a third-party consultant or vendor provided the consultant agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the document, material, or other information; and
d. May enter agreements governing sharing and use of information consistent with this subsection.
4. A waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, materials, or information does not occur as a result of disclosure to the commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in subsection 3.
5. Documents, materials, or other information in the possession or control of the national association of insurance commissioners or a third-party consultant or vendor pursuant to this chapter are confidential, not subject to chapter 44-04, not subject to subpoena, and not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action.