Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-1611 — NE Code / Chapter 59 / Section 59-1611
View Statute 59-1611
Status: in_force

(1) Whenever the Attorney General believes that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of any original or copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, map, chart, photograph, mechanical transcription, or other tangible document or recording, wherever situated, which he or she believes to be relevant to the subject matter of an investigation of a possible violation of sections 59-1602 to 59-1606 , the Attorney General may, prior to the institution of a civil proceeding thereon, execute in writing and cause to be served upon such a person a civil investigative demand requiring such person to produce such documentary material and permit inspection and copying thereof. This section shall not be applicable to criminal prosecutions.

(2) Each such demand shall:

(a) State the statute and section or sections thereof the alleged violation of which is under investigation, and the general subject matter of the investigation;

(b) Describe the class or classes of documentary material to be produced thereunder with reasonable specificity so as fairly to indicate the material demanded;

(c) Prescribe a return date within which the documentary material shall be produced; and

(d) Identify the members of the Attorney General's staff to whom such documentary material shall be made available for inspection and copying.

(3) No such demand shall:

(a) Contain any requirement which would be unreasonable or improper if contained in a subpoena duces tecum issued by a court of this state; or

(b) Require the disclosure of any documentary material which would be privileged, or which for any other reason would not be required by a subpoena duces tecum issued by a court of this state.

(4) Service of any such demand may be made by:

(a) Delivering a duly executed copy thereof to the person to be served, or, if such person is not a natural person, to any officer of the person to be served;

(b) Delivering a duly executed copy thereof to the principal place of business in this state of the person to be served; or

(c) Mailing by certified mail a duly executed copy thereof addressed to the person to be served at the principal place of business in this state, or, if such person has no place of business in this state, to his or her principal office or place of business.

(5) Documentary material demanded pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be produced for inspection and copying during normal business hours at the principal office or place of business of the person served, or at such other times and places as may be agreed upon by the person served and the Attorney General.

(6) No documentary material produced pursuant to a demand, or copies thereof, shall, unless otherwise ordered by a district court for good cause shown, be produced for inspection or copying by, nor shall the contents thereof be disclosed to, other than an authorized employee of the Attorney General, without the consent of the person who produced such material, except that:

(a) Under such reasonable terms and conditions as the Attorney General shall prescribe, the copies of such documentary material shall be available for inspection and copying by the person who produced such material or any duly authorized representative of such person;

(b) The Attorney General may provide copies of such documentary material to an official of this or any other state, or an official of the federal government, who is charged with the enforcement of federal or state antitrust or consumer protection laws, if such official agrees in writing to not disclose such documentary material to any person other than the official's authorized employees, except as such disclosure is permitted under subdivision (c) of this subsection; and

(c) The Attorney General or any assistant attorney general or an official authorized to receive copies of documentary material under subdivision (b) of this subsection may use such copies of documentary material as he or she determines necessary in the enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act or any state or federal consumer protection laws that any state or federal official has authority to enforce, including presentation before any court, except that any such material which contains trade secrets shall not be presented except with the approval of the court in which action is pending after adequate notice to the person furnishing such material.

(7) At any time before the return date specified in the demand, or within twenty days after the demand has been served, whichever period is shorter, a petition to extend the return date for or to modify or set aside a demand issued pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, stating good cause, may be filed in the district court for Lancaster County, or in such other county where the parties reside. A petition by the person on whom the demand is served, stating good cause, to require the Attorney General or any person to perform any duty imposed by the provisions of this section, and all other petitions in connection with a demand, may be filed in the district court for Lancaster County or in the county where the parties reside.

(8) Whenever any person fails to comply with any civil investigative demand for documentary material duly served upon him or her under this section, or whenever satisfactory copying or reproduction of any such material cannot be done and such person refuses to surrender such material, the Attorney General may file, in the district court of the county in which such person resides, is found, or transacts business, and serve upon such person a petition for an order of such court for the enforcement of this section, except that if such person transacts business in more than one county such petition shall be filed in the county in which such person maintains his or her principal place of business or in such other county as may be agreed upon by the parties to such petition. Whenever any petition is filed in the district court of any county under this section, such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter so presented and to enter such order as may be required to carry into effect the provisions of this section. Disobedience of any order entered under this section by any court shall be punished as a contempt thereof.

(9) When the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any violation of sections 59-1602 to 59-1606 , the Attorney General may:

(a) Require such person to file a statement or report in writing under oath or otherwise, on such forms as shall be prescribed by the Attorney General, as to all facts and circumstances concerning the sale, offer, or advertisement of property or services by such person, and such other data and information as the Attorney General deems necessary;

(b) Examine under oath any person in connection with the sale or advertisement of any property or services;

(c) Examine any property or sample thereof, record, book, document, account, or paper as the Attorney General deems necessary;

(d) Pursuant to an order of any district court, impound any record, book, document, account, paper, or sample of property which is material to such violation and retain the same in his or her possession until the completion of all proceedings undertaken under the Consumer Protection Act; or

(e) Obtain an order freezing or impounding connected accounts or assets as provided in subsection (10) of this section.

(10)(a) For purposes of this subsection, connected accounts or assets means any bank account, other financial account, money, asset, or property connected with any alleged violation of sections 59-1602 to 59-1606 .

(b) In order to ensure the availability of resources needed to provide restitution or any other remedy available to a consumer by law, the Attorney General may request an ex parte order from the district court temporarily freezing or impounding connected accounts or assets. If granted, such order shall be effective for a period of fourteen days, and the court shall set the matter for a hearing. The Attorney General shall provide notice of the order and hearing to the owner of the connected account or asset. Such notice may be made by publication.

(c) Following such hearing, the court may extend the temporary order for any period up to the completion of all proceedings undertaken under the Consumer Protection Act unless earlier canceled or modified at the request of the Attorney General.

Laws 1974, LB 1028, § 18;

Laws 2002, LB 1278, § 29;

Laws 2016, LB835, § 22;

Laws 2024, LB934, § 2.