(a) If a court finds that any person is willfully using or has willfully used a method, act or practice declared unlawful by § 39-5-20, the Attorney General, upon petition to the court, may recover on behalf of the State a civil penalty of not exceeding five thousand dollars per violation.

(b) Any person who violates the terms of an injunction issued under § 39-5-50 shall forfeit and pay to the State a civil penalty of not more than fifteen thousand dollars per violation. For the purposes of this section, the court of common pleas issuing an injunction shall retain jurisdiction, and the cause shall be continued and in such cases the Attorney General acting in the name of the State may petition for recovery of civil penalties. Whenever the court determines that an injunction issued pursuant to § 39-5-50 has been violated, the court shall award reasonable costs to the State.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 39-5-110

  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • 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: shall include natural persons, corporations, trusts, partnerships, incorporated or unincorporated associations and any other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 39-5-10

(c) For the purposes of this section, a willful violation occurs when the party committing the violation knew or should have known that his conduct was a violation of § 39-5-20.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 1 Contents