§2713.3. Prohibited acts
A. A transferee or structured settlement purchase company, or an employee or
representative of a transferee or structured settlement purchase company, shall not engage
in any of the following actions:
(1) Pursue or complete a transfer with a payee without complying with this Act.
(2) Refuse or fail to fund a transfer, following court approval of the transfer.
(3) Acquire structured settlement payment rights from a payee without complying
with this Act and securing court approval of the transfer in accordance with this Act.
(4) Intentionally file a structured settlement transfer proceeding in any court other
than the court specified in R.S. 9:2713.8(A), unless the transferee is required to file in some
other court by other applicable law.
(5) Pay a commission or finder's fee to a person or entity for facilitating or arranging
a structured settlement transfer with a payee, unless such person or entity is registered as a
structured settlement purchase company or is an employee of a registered structured
settlement purchase company. A structured settlement purchase company may pay to third
parties routine transfer expenses, such as court filing fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees,
judgment and lien search fees, attorney fees, and other similar types of fees relating to a
transfer. A structured settlement purchase company may pay a reasonable referral fee to an
attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, licensed insurance agent, or other licensed
professional advisor in connection with a transfer.
(6) Intentionally advertise materially false or misleading information regarding its
products or services.
(7) Attempt to coerce, bribe, or intimidate any payee seeking to transfer structured
settlement payment rights.
(8) Attempt to defraud a payee or any party to a structured settlement transfer or any
interested party in a structured settlement transfer proceeding by means of forgery or false
identification.
(9) Intervene in a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding, if the transferee
or structured settlement purchase company is not a party to such proceeding or an interested
party relative to the proposed transfer which is the subject of the pending structured
settlement transfer proceeding. However, this shall not preclude a structured settlement
purchase company from intervening in a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding
where the payee has signed a transfer agreement with the structured settlement purchase
company within sixty days prior to the filing of the pending structured settlement transfer
proceeding, and the structured settlement purchase company who filed the pending structured
settlement transfer proceeding violated any of the provisions of this Act in connection with
the proposed transfer that is the subject of the pending structured settlement transfer
proceeding.
(10) Knowingly contact a payee who has signed a transfer agreement and is pursuing
a proposed transfer with another structured settlement purchase company for the purpose of
inducing the payee into canceling the proposed transfer or transfer agreement with the other
structured settlement purchase company, if a structured settlement transfer proceeding has
been filed by the other structured settlement purchase company and is pending. However,
if no hearing has been held in the pending structured settlement transfer proceeding within
ninety days of the filing of same, this Paragraph shall not apply.
(11) Fail to dismiss a pending structured settlement transfer proceeding at the request
of the payee. A dismissal of a structured settlement transfer proceeding under this
Subsection shall not exempt a person who violates this Section from any liability under this
Section.
B. A payee may pursue a private action as a result of a violation of this Section, and
may recover all damages and pursue all rights and remedies to which the payee may be
entitled under this Act, the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, or other
applicable law.
C. A structured settlement purchase company may pursue a private action to enforce
Paragraphs (A)(4), (7), (9), (10), and (11) of this Section as a result of a violation of such
Paragraphs, and may recover all damages and pursue all remedies to which the structured
settlement purchase company may be entitled under this Act or other applicable law.
D. If a court determines that a structured settlement purchase company or transferee
is in violation of this Section, the court may revoke the registration of the structured
settlement purchase company, suspend the registration of the structured settlement purchase
company for a period of time to be determined at the discretion of the court, or may enjoin
the structured settlement purchase company or transferee from filing new structured
settlement transfer proceedings or pursuing transfers in this state.
Acts 2019, No. 260, §1, eff. July 1, 2020.