North Dakota Code 26.1-10.3-05 – Confidentiality
1. Documents, materials, or other information, including the corporate governance annual disclosure, in the possession or control of the insurance department which are obtained by, created by, or disclosed to the commissioner or any other person under this chapter, are recognized by this state as being proprietary and to contain trade secrets. All documents, materials, or other information is confidential by law and privileged, is not subject to section 44-04-18, is not subject to subpoena, and is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil action. However, 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 official duties. The commissioner may not otherwise make the documents, materials, or other information public without the prior written consent of the insurer. This section may not be construed to require written consent of the insurer before the commissioner may share or receive confidential documents, materials, or other corporate governance annual disclosure-related information pursuant to subsection 3 to assist in the performance of the commissioner’s regular duties.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 26.1-10.3-05
- 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.
- Verified: means sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths. See North Dakota Code 1-01-42
- 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. Neither the commissioner nor any person that received documents, materials, or other corporate governance annual disclosure-related information, through examination or otherwise, while acting under the authority of the commissioner, or with which documents, materials, or other information are shared pursuant to this chapter may 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 regulatory duties, the commissioner:
a. May, upon request, share documents, materials, or other corporate governance annual disclosure-related information, including the confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information subject to subsection 1, including proprietary and trade secret documents and materials, with other state, federal, and international financial regulatory agencies, including members of any supervisory college as defined in section 26.1-10-06.1, with the national association of insurance commissioners, and with third-party consultants pursuant to section 26.1-10.3-06, if the recipient agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the corporate governance annual disclosure-related documents, materials, or other information and has verified in writing the legal authority to maintain confidentiality; and
b. May receive documents, materials, or other corporate governance annual disclosure-related information, including otherwise confidential and privileged documents, materials, or information, including proprietary and trade secret information or documents, from regulatory officials of other state, federal, and international financial regulatory agencies, including members of any supervisory college as defined in chapter 26.1-10, and from the national association of insurance commissioners, and shall maintain as confidential or privileged any documents, materials, 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.
4. The sharing of information and documents by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter does not constitute a delegation of regulatory authority or rulemaking, and the commissioner is solely responsible for the administration, execution, and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
5. A waiver of any applicable privilege or claim of confidentiality in the documents, proprietary and trade secret materials, or other corporate governance annual disclosure-related information does not occur as a result of disclosure of corporate governance annual disclosure-related information or documents to the commissioner under this section or as a result of sharing as authorized in this chapter.