P.R. Laws tit. 31, § 1261b

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00
§ 1261b. Cease and desist orders

(1) The Company may issue an order requiring any person to cease and desist from any act or practice in violation of this chapter or any regulations promulgated by the Company hereunder and take such affirmative action as, in the judgment of the Company, will fulfill the purposes and intent of this chapter. Whenever the Company determines from evidence available to it that a person has engaged or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of this chapter or any regulation promulgated or order issued by the Company hereunder, the Company, with or without prior administrative proceedings, may bring an action in an appropriate court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin such act or practice and to enforce compliance with this chapter or any regulation promulgated or order issued hereunder.

(2) If, in the opinion of the director of the Company, the offer or disposition of any timeshare or vacation club right Puerto Rico requires a timeshare or vacation club permit under this chapter and such timeshare or vacation club right is being, or has been offered or disposed of, without the developer’s holding a valid timeshare or vacation club permit, the Company may order the developer and its agents to cease and desist from the further offer or disposition of timeshare or vacation club rights in Puerto Rico unless or until a timeshare or vacation club permit has been duly issued by the Company under this chapter. Any person to whom such order is directed may, within thirty (30) days after its service, file with the Company a written request for a hearing to contest the order. If such a request is filed, a hearing shall be held in accordance with the laws of Puerto Rico applicable to administrative adjudications, and the Company shall have all the powers granted thereunder.

(3) Whenever the Company determines from evidence available to it that a developer is directly, or through its agents or representatives, violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or any regulations of the Company promulgated hereunder, or that any representations or assurances given by the developer upon which the Company relied in issuing a timeshare or vacation club permit were materially false or misleading or that conditions or circumstances existing with respect to the developer’s timeshare plan or vacation club would have resulted in the denial of a timeshare or vacation club permit had they been known to the Company, then the Company may order the developer to desist and refrain from such violations and/or it may order the cessation of offers and dispositions of timeshares or vacation club rights in Puerto Rico. Upon receipt of such an order, the person or persons to whom the order is directed shall immediately discontinue their activities in accordance with the terms of the order. Any person to whom such an order is directed may, within thirty (30) days after service of the order upon the person file with the Company a written request for a hearing to contest the order. If such a request is filed, a hearing shall be held in accordance with the laws of Puerto Rico applicable to administrative adjudications, and the Company shall have all of the powers granted thereunder.

(4) Whenever the Company determines from evidence available to it that a person is violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations of the Company promulgated hereunder, that any representations or assurances given by the person upon which the Company has relied were untrue or have not been carried out, or that conditions or circumstances existing would have caused the denial of any entitlement granted by the Company, then the Company may order the person to cease and desist from such violations. Upon receipt of such an order, the person or persons to whom the order is directed shall immediately discontinue their activities in accordance with the terms of the order. Any person to whom such an order is directed may, within thirty (30) days after service of the order upon the person, file with the Company a written request for a hearing to contest the order. If such a request is filed, a hearing shall be held in accordance with the laws of Puerto Rico applicable to administrative adjudications, and the Company shall have all of the powers granted thereunder.

(5) When the Company has authority to issue a cease and desist order pursuant to the provisions of §§ 1261—1261h of this title, it may accept, in lieu thereof or as part thereof, an assurance of discontinuance of any violative practice. Such an assurance may include a stipulation for the voluntary payment by the alleged violator of the costs of the Company’s investigation, including the cost of initiating and prosecuting any action or proceeding by the Company and any amount necessary to restore to any person money or property acquired by means of the violation. Any assurance of discontinuance accepted by the Company and any stipulation filed with a court in connection with any action or proceeding shall be confidential to the parties to the action or proceeding and to the court and its employees, but if an accepted assurance of discontinuance is violated, or if a person engages in the same violative practice which he previously agreed to discontinue, then the assurance of discontinuance or stipulation shall become a public record and open to inspection by any person.

History —Dec. 26, 1995, No. 252, § 11-103.