A person or entity must register with the secretary of state before acting as a transferee, trying to acquire structured settlement payment rights, or filing a transfer proceeding in the state.
§2713.2. Registration; renewal A. A person or entity shall not act as a transferee, attempt to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer from a payee who resides in this state, or file a structured settlement transfer proceeding in this state unless the person or entity has registered with the secretary of state to do business in this state. B. An applicant's initial registration application shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and shall include a sworn certification by an authorized representative of the applicant, if the applicant is an entity, or by the individual applicant, if the applicant is an individual, certifying that: (1) The applicant has secured a surety bond, has been issued a letter of credit, or has posted a cash bond in the amount of fifty thousand dollars, relative to its business as a structured settlement purchase company in this state. The surety bond, letter of credit, or cash bond is intended to protect payees who do business with a structured settlement purchase company. (a) The bond shall be payable to the state of Louisiana. (b) The bond, letter of credit, or cash bond shall be effective for at least the time period during which the applicant's registration filed with the secretary of state is effective and the bond, letter of credit, or cash bond shall be renewed each year when the applicant's registration is renewed. (c) The applicant shall submit to the secretary of state a copy of the bond, letter of credit, or cash bond with its registration or renewal application. (d) The bond, letter of credit, or cash bond is intended to ensure that the structured settlement purchase company will comply with the provisions of this Act relative to the payee and perform its obligations to payee under this Act, and to provide a source for recovery for the payee should a payee recover a judgment against a structured settlement purchase company for a violation of this Act. (e) Within ten days after a judgment is secured against a structured settlement purchase company by a payee, the structured settlement purchase company shall file a notice with the secretary of state and the surety providing a copy of the judgment and the name and address of the judgment creditor, and include the status of the matter, including whether the judgment will be appealed or has been paid or satisfied. (f) The liability of the surety under the bond shall not be affected by any breach of contract, breach of warranty, failure to pay a premium or other act or omission of the bonded structured settlement purchase company, or by any insolvency or bankruptcy of the structured settlement purchase company. (g) Neither the bonded structured settlement purchase company nor the surety shall cancel or modify the bond during the term for which it is issued, except by filing a written notice with the secretary of state at least twenty days prior to the effective date of such cancellation or modification. (h) In the event of a cancellation of the bond, the registration of the structured settlement purchase company shall automatically expire unless a new surety bond, letter of credit, or cash bond, which complies with this Subsection, is filed with the secretary of state. The cancellation or modification of a bond does not affect any liability of the bonded surety company incurred before cancellation or modification of the bond. (2) The applicant will comply with all of the provisions of this Act when acting as a structured settlement purchase company and filing structured settlement transfer proceedings in this state. C. An assignee is not required to register as a structured settlement purchase company in order to acquire structured settlement payment rights from a transferee, structured settlement purchase company, or another assignee, or to take a security interest in structured settlement payment rights from a transferee, structured settlement purchase company, or another assignee, in a transaction where the assignee does not act as a structured settlement purchase company or as a transferee under this Act. D. An employee of a structured settlement purchase company, if acting on behalf of the employer structured settlement purchase company in connection with a transfer, is not required to be registered. E. A registered structured settlement purchase company shall renew its registration annually, on or before the renewal date, and provide the certifications set forth in Subsection B of this Section. Acts 2019, No. 260, §1, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2022, No. 193, §1.