6.2 Grounds for Suspension or Revocation under 114CSR103-11.1
Key Takeaways
The WV Insurance Commissioner may suspend or revoke a bail bondsman license for good cause at any time, after notice and hearing under W.Va. Code §§33-2-12 and 33-2-13 (114CSR103-11.1).
114CSR103-11.1 lists seventeen grounds for bail bondsman license suspension or revocation, and the list is not exclusive.
Failing to pay required fees or forfeited bonds to a court is a ground for license suspension or revocation (114CSR103-11.1.14).
Posting a bond without first getting a written or oral agreement with the defendant or cosigner is a license ground (114CSR103-11.1.16).
Each violation of 114CSR103-11.1 can also bring a civil penalty of up to $100 per occurrence (114CSR103-11.3).
Outline item VI.C, Suspension reasons, lists fifteen numbered reasons. They map to 114CSR103-11.1.2 through 11.1.16. The rule itself has seventeen grounds: 11.1.1 (any cause for which the license could have been denied) and 11.1.17 (any act prohibited by section 5) frame the list. This is one of the most heavily tested lists on the exam.
The standard
Under 114CSR103-11.1, any license may, after notice and hearing under W.Va. Code §§33-2-12 and 33-2-13, be suspended or revoked for good cause at any time. Good cause "includes, but is not limited to" the grounds below. The list is not exhaustive.
The seventeen grounds
| Rule | Outline | Ground |
|---|---|---|
| 11.1.1 | (frame) | Any cause for which issuance could have been denied |
| 11.1.2 | C.1 | Violation of any law of the State, lawful rule, or order of the Commissioner |
| 11.1.3 | C.2 | Material misstatement, misrepresentation or fraud in obtaining the license or on the application or renewal |
| 11.1.4 | C.3 | Misappropriation, conversion or unlawful withholding of money or property of insurers, insureds or others received in the business |
| 11.1.5 | C.4 | Conviction of, or guilty or no-contest plea to, a felony that substantially relates to being a bail bondsman and poses a reasonable threat to public safety |
| 11.1.6 | C.5 | Fraudulent or dishonest practices, or financial irresponsibility |
| 11.1.7 | C.6 | Incompetency, untrustworthiness, or conduct making the licensee unfit or continuation detrimental to the public |
| 11.1.8 | C.7 | Misrepresenting the terms of any actual or proposed bond |
| 11.1.9 | C.8 | Forging another's name to a bond or bond application |
| 11.1.10 | C.9 | Willful failure to return collateral when the principal is entitled to it |
| 11.1.11 | C.10 | Failing to report a change of legal name, addresses, email or phone within 30 days, or failing to respond to a properly mailed notice within a reasonable time |
| 11.1.12 | C.11 | Failing to file a required report, or filing a materially untrue report |
| 11.1.13 | C.12 | Filing false affidavits (see also §51-10-8(g)) |
| 11.1.14 | C.13 | Failing to pay required fees or forfeited bonds to a court |
| 11.1.15 | C.14 | Failing to pay any required fee to the Commissioner |
| 11.1.16 | C.15 | Posting a bond without first obtaining a written or oral agreement with the defendant or cosigner |
| 11.1.17 | (frame) | Committing any act prohibited by section 5 (kickbacks, extra fees, case-fixing, solicitation and so on) |
Grouping the grounds to remember them
- Honesty with the regulator: 11.1.3 (application), 11.1.11 (contact changes), 11.1.12 (reports), 11.1.13 (affidavits).
- Honesty with clients: 11.1.4 (misappropriation), 11.1.6 (dishonest practices), 11.1.8 (misrepresenting bond terms), 11.1.9 (forgery), 11.1.10 (keeping collateral), 11.1.16 (no agreement).
- Paying what is owed: 11.1.14 (courts: fees and forfeitures), 11.1.15 (Commissioner fees).
- Fitness: 11.1.1 (could have been denied), 11.1.5 (related felony), 11.1.7 (incompetence or untrustworthiness).
- Breaking the rules: 11.1.2 (any law, rule or order), 11.1.17 (section 5 prohibitions).
Two felony rules, not one
A frequent trap compares 11.1.5 with 3.12:
| Provision | Who | Standard | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.2.1.h; 3.12 | Applicants, and licensees convicted after licensure | Any felony conviction | Not qualified; Commissioner shall not license, and shall revoke or not renew a licensee convicted after licensure |
| 11.1.5 | Licensees | Felony conviction or guilty or no-contest plea that substantially relates to the occupation and poses a reasonable threat to public safety | Commissioner may suspend or revoke after notice and hearing |
When the question asks about an applicant with any felony, the answer is the absolute bar. When it quotes "substantially relates ... reasonable threat to public safety," it is testing 11.1.5.
Scenarios
- Late address update. A bondsman moves home and reports it 45 days later. Ground 11.1.11.
- Forfeiture unpaid. A circuit court enters a forfeiture judgment and the bondsman does not pay. Ground 11.1.14. For a professional bondsman, the Commissioner may also use the security deposit after proper notice (8.8).
- "Oral is fine." A bondsman posts a bond at 2 a.m. after a phone call in which the defendant's brother agrees to the terms. An oral agreement satisfies 11.1.16. Posting with no agreement at all does not.
- Signed for a cosigner. An agent signs a cosigner's name to an indemnity application "to save time." Ground 11.1.9 (forgery), and probably 11.1.6.
- Wrong fee. A bondsman charges 5% on a bond. That violates §51-10-5a and 5.1, so ground 11.1.2. It may also be 11.1.8 if the terms were misrepresented.
Procedure and penalties
- Notice and hearing first (§§33-2-12 and 33-2-13; section 1.3).
- Civil penalty: up to $100 per occurrence, in addition to license action (11.3).
- Dual licenses: suspension or revocation reaches both, because they count as one license for discipline (3.9).
- Section 6.3 covers what happens after a suspension or revocation.
Exam traps
- "Includes, but is not limited to." The list is not exhaustive.
- Oral agreements count for 11.1.16.
- Unpaid forfeitures to a court and unpaid fees to the Commissioner are separate grounds (11.1.14 and 11.1.15).
- 11.1.5 needs both a substantial relationship to the occupation and a reasonable threat to public safety.
A bondsman posts a bond for a defendant without any written or oral agreement with the defendant or a cosigner. Which suspension or revocation ground applies?
114CSR103-11.1.15, failing to pay a required fee to the Commissioner
114CSR103-11.1.11, failing to report a change of address within 30 days
114CSR103-11.1.9, forging another person's name on a bond
114CSR103-11.1.16, posting a bond without first obtaining an agreement
Which felony standard appears in 114CSR103-11.1.5 as a ground for suspending or revoking an existing license?
Any felony charge filed in any state, whether or not it results in a conviction or a plea
A felony substantially related to the occupation that poses a reasonable public-safety threat
Only a felony that results in a prison sentence of more than five years
Only a felony committed while the bondsman was actually posting or collecting on a bail bond
Before the Commissioner suspends or revokes a bail bondsman license for good cause under 114CSR103-11.1, what must occur?
A criminal conviction in circuit court for the same conduct
A unanimous vote of the county commission where the bondsman works
Notice and hearing under W.Va. Code §§33-2-12 and 33-2-13
A written complaint signed by at least two defendants
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.