339.100. Investigation of certain practices, procedure--subpoenas--formal complaints--revocation or suspension of licenses--digest may be published--revocation of licenses for certain offenses.
Investigation of certain practices, procedure--subpoenas--formalcomplaints--revocation or suspension of licenses--digest may bepublished--revocation of licenses for certain offenses.
339.100. 1. The commission may, upon its own motion, and shall uponreceipt of a written complaint filed by any person, investigate any realestate-related activity of a licensee licensed under sections 339.010 to339.180 and sections 339.710 to 339.860* or an individual or entity actingas or representing themselves as a real estate licensee. In conductingsuch investigation, if the questioned activity or written complaintinvolves an affiliated licensee, the commission may forward a copy of theinformation received to the affiliated licensee's designated broker. Thecommission shall have the power to hold an investigatory hearing todetermine whether there is a probability of a violation of sections 339.010to 339.180 and sections 339.710 to 339.860*. The commission shall have thepower to issue a subpoena to compel the production of records and papersbearing on the complaint. The commission shall have the power to issue asubpoena and to compel any person in this state to come before thecommission to offer testimony or any material specified in the subpoena.Subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum issued pursuant to this section shallbe served in the same manner as subpoenas in a criminal case. The fees andmileage of witnesses shall be the same as that allowed in the circuit courtin civil cases.
2. The commission may cause a complaint to be filed with theadministrative hearing commission as provided by the provisions of chapter621, RSMo, against any person or entity licensed under this chapter or anylicensee who has failed to renew or has surrendered his or her individualor entity license for any one or any combination of the following acts:
(1) Failure to maintain and deposit in a special account, separateand apart from his or her personal or other business accounts, all moneysbelonging to others entrusted to him or her while acting as a real estatebroker or as the temporary custodian of the funds of others, until thetransaction involved is consummated or terminated, unless all partieshaving an interest in the funds have agreed otherwise in writing;
(2) Making substantial misrepresentations or false promises orsuppression, concealment or omission of material facts in the conduct ofhis or her business or pursuing a flagrant and continued course ofmisrepresentation through agents, salespersons, advertising or otherwise inany transaction;
(3) Failing within a reasonable time to account for or to remit anymoneys, valuable documents or other property, coming into his or herpossession, which belongs to others;
(4) Representing to any lender, guaranteeing agency, or any otherinterested party, either verbally or through the preparation of falsedocuments, an amount in excess of the true and actual sale price of thereal estate or terms differing from those actually agreed upon;
(5) Failure to timely deliver a duplicate original of any and allinstruments to any party or parties executing the same where theinstruments have been prepared by the licensee or under his or hersupervision or are within his or her control, including, but not limitedto, the instruments relating to the employment of the licensee or to anymatter pertaining to the consummation of a lease, listing agreement or thepurchase, sale, exchange or lease of property, or any type of real estatetransaction in which he or she may participate as a licensee;
(6) Acting for more than one party in a transaction without theknowledge of all parties for whom he or she acts, or accepting a commissionor valuable consideration for services from more than one party in a realestate transaction without the knowledge of all parties to the transaction;
(7) Paying a commission or valuable consideration to any person foracts or services performed in violation of sections 339.010 to 339.180 andsections 339.710 to 339.860*;
(8) Guaranteeing or having authorized or permitted any licensee toguarantee future profits which may result from the resale of real property;
(9) Having been finally adjudicated and been found guilty of theviolation of any state or federal statute which governs the sale or rentalof real property or the conduct of the real estate business as defined insubsection 1 of section 339.010;
(10) Obtaining a certificate or registration of authority, permit orlicense for himself or herself or anyone else by false or fraudulentrepresentation, fraud or deceit;
(11) Representing a real estate broker other than the broker withwhom associated without the express written consent of the broker with whomassociated;
(12) Accepting a commission or valuable consideration for theperformance of any of the acts referred to in section 339.010 from anyperson except the broker with whom associated at the time the commission orvaluable consideration was earned;
(13) Using prizes, money, gifts or other valuable consideration asinducement to secure customers or clients to purchase, lease, sell or listproperty when the awarding of such prizes, money, gifts or other valuableconsideration is conditioned upon the purchase, lease, sale or listing; orsoliciting, selling or offering for sale real property by offering freelots, or conducting lotteries or contests, or offering prizes for thepurpose of influencing a purchaser or prospective purchaser of realproperty;
(14) Placing a sign on or advertising any property offering it forsale or rent without the written consent of the owner or his or her dulyauthorized agent;
(15) Violation of, or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly,or assisting or enabling any person to violate, any provision of sections339.010 to 339.180 and sections 339.710 to 339.860*, or of any lawful ruleadopted pursuant to sections 339.010 to 339.180 and sections 339.710 to339.860*;
(16) Committing any act which would otherwise be grounds for thecommission to refuse to issue a license under section 339.040;
(17) Failure to timely inform seller of all written offers unlessotherwise instructed in writing by the seller;
(18) Been finally adjudicated and found guilty, or entered a plea ofguilty or nolo contendere, in a criminal prosecution under the laws of thisstate or any other state or of the United States, for any offensereasonably related to the qualifications, functions or duties of anyprofession licensed or regulated under this chapter, for any offense anessential element of which is fraud, dishonesty or an act of violence, orfor any offense involving moral turpitude, whether or not sentence isimposed;
(19) Any other conduct which constitutes untrustworthy, improper orfraudulent business dealings, demonstrates bad faith or incompetence,misconduct, or gross negligence;
(20) Disciplinary action against the holder of a license or otherright to practice any profession regulated under sections 339.010 to339.180 and sections 339.710 to 339.860* granted by another state,territory, federal agency, or country upon grounds for which revocation,suspension, or probation is authorized in this state;
(21) Been found by a court of competent jurisdiction of having usedany controlled substance, as defined in chapter 195, RSMo, to the extentthat such use impairs a person's ability to perform the work of anyprofession licensed or regulated by sections 339.010 to 339.180 andsections 339.710 to 339.860*;
(22) Been finally adjudged insane or incompetent by a court ofcompetent jurisdiction;
(23) Assisting or enabling any person to practice or offer topractice any profession licensed or regulated under sections 339.010 to339.180 and sections 339.710 to 339.860* who is not registered andcurrently eligible to practice under sections 339.010 to 339.180 andsections 339.710 to 339.860*;
(24) Use of any advertisement or solicitation which is knowinglyfalse, misleading or deceptive to the general public or persons to whom theadvertisement or solicitation is primarily directed;
(25) Making any material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omissionwith regard to any application for licensure or license renewal. As usedin this section, "material" means important information about which thecommission should be informed and which may influence a licensing decision;
(26) Engaging in, committing, or assisting any person in engaging inor committing mortgage fraud, as defined in section 443.930, RSMo.
3. After the filing of such complaint, the proceedings will beconducted in accordance with the provisions of law relating to theadministrative hearing commission. A finding of the administrative hearingcommissioner that the licensee has performed or attempted to perform one ormore of the foregoing acts shall be grounds for the suspension orrevocation of his license by the commission, or the placing of the licenseeon probation on such terms and conditions as the real estate commissionshall deem appropriate, or the imposition of a civil penalty by thecommission not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars for eachoffense. Each day of a continued violation shall constitute a separateoffense.
4. The commission may prepare a digest of the decisions of theadministrative hearing commission which concern complaints against licensedbrokers or salespersons and cause such digests to be mailed to alllicensees periodically. Such digests may also contain reports as to new orchanged rules adopted by the commission and other information ofsignificance to licensees.
5. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a broker orsalesperson's license shall be revoked, or in the case of an applicant,shall not be issued, if the licensee or applicant has pleaded guilty to,entered a plea of nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of any of thefollowing offenses or offenses of a similar nature established under thelaws of this, any other state, the United States, or any other country,notwithstanding whether sentence is imposed:
(1) Any dangerous felony as defined under section 556.061, RSMo, ormurder in the first degree;
(2) Any of the following sexual offenses: rape, statutory rape inthe first degree, statutory rape in the second degree, sexual assault,forcible sodomy, statutory sodomy in the first degree, statutory sodomy inthe second degree, child molestation in the first degree, child molestationin the second degree, deviate sexual assault, sexual misconduct involving achild, sexual misconduct in the first degree, sexual abuse, enticement of achild, or attempting to entice a child;
(3) Any of the following offenses against the family and relatedoffenses: incest, abandonment of a child in the first degree, abandonmentof a child in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child in thefirst degree, abuse of a child, using a child in a sexual performance,promoting sexual performance by a child, or trafficking in children;
(4) Any of the following offenses involving child pornography andrelated offenses: promoting obscenity in the first degree, promotingobscenity in the second degree when the penalty is enhanced to a class Dfelony, promoting child pornography in the first degree, promoting childpornography in the second degree, possession of child pornography in thefirst degree, possession of child pornography in the second degree,furnishing child pornography to a minor, furnishing pornographic materialsto minors, or coercing acceptance of obscene material; and
(5) Mortgage fraud as defined in section 570.310, RSMo.
6. A person whose license was revoked under subsection 5 of thissection may appeal such revocation to the administrative hearingcommission. Notice of such appeal must be received by the administrativehearing commission within ninety days of mailing, by certified mail, thenotice of revocation. Failure of a person whose license was revoked tonotify the administrative hearing commission of his or her intent to appealwaives all rights to appeal the revocation. Upon notice of such person'sintent to appeal, a hearing shall be held before the administrative hearingcommission.
(L. 1941 p. 424 § 10, A.L. 1978 S.B. 811, A.L. 1993 S.B. 18, A.L. 2004 H.B. 985, A.L. 2005 H.B. 174, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1339, A.L. 2007 H.B. 780 merged with S.B. 308, A.L. 2008 H.B. 2188)*Section 339.860 was repealed by S.B. 613 Revision, 2007.