§482E-5  General provisions.  (a)  Every
person selling franchises in this State shall at all times keep and maintain a
complete set of books, records, and accounts of such sales and shall thereafter
at such times as are required by the director make and file in the office of
the director a report setting forth the franchises sold by it and the proceeds
derived therefrom.



(b)  It is unlawful for any person in
connection with the offer, sale, or purchase of any franchise directly or
indirectly:



(1)  To make any untrue statement of a material fact
in any offering circular or report filed with the director under this chapter
or wilfully to omit to state in any offering circular or report, any material
fact which is required to be stated therein.



(2)  To sell or offer to sell a franchise in this
State by means of any written or oral communication which includes an untrue
statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in
order to make the statements made in light of the circumstances under which
they were made not misleading.



(3)  To employ any device, scheme, or artifice to
defraud.



(4)  To engage in any act, practice, or course of
business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.



(5)  To violate any order of the director.



(c)  Any person who is engaged or hereafter
engaged directly or indirectly in the sale of a franchise or in business
dealings concerning a franchise, either in person or in any other form of
communication, shall be subject to this chapter, shall be amenable to the
jurisdiction of the courts of this State, and shall be amenable to the service
of process as provided by law and rule.  Every person who sells a franchise in
this State shall file with the director in such form as the director by rule
prescribes, an irrevocable consent appointing the commissioner or the
commissioner's successor in office to be the person's attorney, to receive
service or any lawful process in any noncriminal suit, action, or proceeding
against the person or the person's successor, executor, administrator, or
personal representative which arises under this chapter or any rule or order
hereunder after the consent has been filed, with the same force and validity as
if served personally on the person filing consent.  A person who has filed such
a consent in connection with a previous sale under this law need not file
another.  Service may be made by leaving a copy of the process in the office of
the commissioner but is not effective unless:



(1)  The plaintiff, who may be the director, in a
suit, action, or proceeding instituted by the plaintiff forthwith sends notice
of the service and a copy of the process by registered or certified mail to the
defendant or respondent at the defendant's or respondent's last address on file
with the director; and



(2)  The plaintiff's affidavit of compliance with this
section is filed in the case on or before the return day of the process, if
any, or within such further times the court allows.



(d)  In any proceeding under this chapter, the
burden of proving an exception or an exemption from a definition is upon the
person claiming it. [L 1974, c 18, pt of §1; am L 1976, c 200, pt of §1; am L
1978, c 242, §6; gen ch 1985; am L 2004, c 121, §53]