Section effective until January 1, 2024. See, also, § 56-15-320 effective January 1, 2024.

(A) Before a license as a "wholesaler" or "dealer" is issued to an applicant, he shall file an application with the Department of Motor Vehicles and furnish the information the department may require including, but not limited to, information adequately identifying by name and address individuals who own or control ten percent or more of the interest in the business. The policy of this section is full disclosure.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 56-15-320

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Motor vehicle: means any motor driven vehicle required to be registered pursuant to § 56-3-110. See South Carolina Code 56-15-10
  • Sale: shall include the issuance, transfer, agreement for transfer, exchange, pledge, hypothecation, mortgage in any form, whether by transfer in trust or otherwise, of any motor vehicle or interest therein or of any franchise related thereto; and any option, lease, subscription or other contract, or solicitation, looking to a sale, or offer or attempt to sell in any form, whether spoken or written. See South Carolina Code 56-15-10

(B) Each applicant for licensure as a dealer or wholesaler shall furnish a surety bond in the penal amount of thirty thousand dollars on a form prescribed by the director of the department. The bond must be given to the department and executed by the applicant, as principal, and by a corporate surety company authorized to do business in this State, as surety. The bond must be conditioned upon the applicant or licensee complying with the statutes applicable to the license and as indemnification for loss or damage suffered by an owner of a motor vehicle, or his legal representative, by reason of fraud practiced or fraudulent representation made in connection with the sale or transfer of a motor vehicle by a licensed dealer or wholesaler or the dealer’s or wholesaler’s agent acting for the dealer or wholesaler or within the scope of employment of the agent or loss or damage suffered by reason of the violation by the dealer or wholesaler or his agent of this chapter. An owner or his legal representative who suffers the loss or damage has a right of action against the dealer or wholesaler and against the dealer’s or wholesaler’s surety upon the bond and may recover damages as provided in this chapter. However, regardless of the number of years a bond remains in effect, the aggregate liability of the surety for claims is limited to thirty thousand dollars on each bond and to the amount of the actual loss incurred. The surety may terminate its liability under the bond by giving the department thirty days’ written notice of its intent to cancel the bond. The cancellation does not affect liability incurred or accrued before the cancellation.

(C) If, during a license year, there is a change in the information a dealer or wholesaler gave the department in obtaining or retaining a license under this section, the licensee shall report the change to the department within thirty days after the change occurs on the form the department requires.

(D) If a licensee ceases being a dealer or wholesaler, within ten days of that time, he shall notify the department of this fact and return to the department a license issued pursuant to this chapter and all current dealer license plates issued to the dealer or wholesaler.