TITLE 33 INSURANCE

Section 6. Unfair Trade Practices, 33-6-1 through 33-6-37.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

33-6-7. Conduct of hearings by Commissioner; rights of person being investigated; powers of Commissioner; service of process.

Whenever the Commissioner shall have reason to believe that any person has been engaged or is engaging in this state in any unfair method of competition or any unfair or deceptive act or practice, whether or not defined in Code Sections 33-6-4 and 33-6-5, and have reason to believe that a proceeding by the Commissioner in respect to such unfair method of competition or such unfair or deceptive act or practice would be in the public interest, he shall issue and serve upon the person a statement of the charges in that respect and a notice of a hearing on the charges to be held at a time and place fixed in the notice, which time shall not be less than 15 days after the date of the service of the notice.
At the time and place fixed for the hearing, the person shall have an opportunity to be heard and to show cause why an order requiring the person to cease and to desist from the acts, methods, or practices so complained of should not be made by the Commissioner. Upon good cause shown, the Commissioner shall permit any person to intervene, appear, and be heard at the hearing by counsel or in person.
Nothing contained in this article shall require the observance at the hearing of formal rules of pleading or evidence.
The Commissioner at the hearing may administer oaths, examine and cross-examine witnesses, receive oral and documentary evidence, subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses, and require the production of books, papers, records, correspondence, or other documents which he deems relevant to the inquiry. The Commissioner at the hearing may and, upon request of any party, shall cause to be made a record of all the evidence and all the proceedings had at the hearing. In case of a refusal of any person to comply with any subpoena issued under this Code section or to testify with respect to any matter concerning which he may be lawfully interrogated, the Superior Court of Fulton County or the superior court of the county where the party resides, on application of the Commissioner, may issue an order requiring the person to comply with the subpoena and to testify; and any failure to obey any order of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt thereof.
Statements of charges, notices, orders, and other processes of the Commissioner under this article may be served by anyone duly authorized by the Commissioner either in the manner provided by law for service of process in civil actions or by registering or certifying and mailing a copy of the statement, notice, order, or other process to the person affected by it at the person's residence or principal office or place of business. The verified return by the person so serving the statement, notice, order, or other process, which return sets forth the manner of the service, shall be proof of the same; and the return post card receipt for the statement, notice, order, or other process, which receipt is registered or certified and mailed as provided in this Code section, shall be proof of the service of the same.

(Code 1933, § 56-706, enacted by Ga. L. 1960, p. 289, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1261, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 3048, § 5.)

Cross references.

- Conduct of hearings by Commissioner generally, § 33-2-16 et seq.

Administrative procedure generally, T. 50, C. 13.

Law reviews.

- For comment on Bankers Life & Cas. Co. v. Cravey, 208 Ga. 682, 69 S.E.2d 87 (1952) see 14 Ga. B.J. 468 (1952).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the provisions, a decision under former Ga. L. 1950, p. 326, is included in the annotations for this section.

Section blueprints procedure to be followed.

- The investigative powers of the Commissioner as set forth in this section constitute a legislative "blueprint" of the procedure that he must employ. Bankers Life & Cas. Co. v. Cravey, 208 Ga. 682, 69 S.E.2d 87 (1952), commented on in 14 Ga. B.J. 468 (1952).

Insurance company has no duty to copy records for Commissioner.

- There is nothing in the law placing upon the insurance company a duty to copy its records and mail them to the Commissioner, and when the Commissioner has fully performed the duties and employed the powers given the Commissioner by law, the Commissioner will have all the information that the Commissioner could obtain by requiring copies of the company's records to be mailed to the Commissioner. Bankers Life & Cas. Co. v. Cravey, 208 Ga. 682, 69 S.E.2d 87 (1952), commented on in 14 Ga. B.J. 468 (1952).

Commissioner may not refuse license renewal for failure to copy records.

- Having the power and duty to investigate an insurance company, to inspect its original records, and to take the sworn testimony of its agents, the Commissioner has a duty to do so and is unauthorized to impose upon the company a duty to copy its records and refuse a renewal of its license upon its failure in that respect. Bankers Life & Cas. Co. v. Cravey, 208 Ga. 682, 69 S.E.2d 87 (1952), commented on in 14 Ga. B.J. 468 (1952).

Cited in Georgia-Carolina Brick & Tile Co. v. Brown, 153 Ga. App. 747, 266 S.E.2d 531 (1980).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Commissioner may challenge any method of competition as unfair.

- This section apparently gives the Commissioner the right to challenge any method of competition as being unfair, and therefore the Commissioner would want to bear this in mind in passing upon the approval of a program involving gifts of life insurance. 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 435.

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