ORDERS:
ORDER GRANTING PETITION FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
The above-captioned matter comes before this tribunal upon a Petition for Injunctive Relief filed with the Administrative
Law Judge Division by Petitioner South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, South Carolina
Manufactured Housing Board (Board) on November 14, 2002. In its Petition, the Board seeks a final order from this
tribunal permanently enjoining Respondent from further engaging in the business of selling manufactured homes in South
Carolina until such time, if ever, as Respondent is properly licensed and is in compliance with the applicable statutes and
regulations. The Petition also requests that this tribunal impose an appropriate monetary penalty upon Respondent and
provide any other such relief as this tribunal finds just and proper. Respondent filed an Answer to the Board's Petition on
January 9, 2003, and a hearing on the Petition was held on February 26, 2003, at the Administrative Law Judge Division in
Columbia, South Carolina. (1) Based upon the evidence and arguments presented at the hearing and upon the applicable law,
I find that Respondent Marvin Jenerette should be permanently enjoined from further violations of the statutory and
regulatory provisions pertaining to the sale of manufactured housing in South Carolina.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Having carefully considered all testimony, exhibits, and arguments presented at the hearing of this matter, and taking into
account the credibility and accuracy of the evidence, I make the following Findings of Fact by a preponderance of the
evidence:
1. In 2001, Respondent Marvin Jenerette entered into the business of buying and selling manufactured homes in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina, with his daughter, Cindy Cannon, under the corporate name of East Coast Repos, Inc.
2. At no time has Respondent been licensed by the South Carolina Manufactured Housing Board to engage in the business
of selling manufactured homes as a manufactured home retail dealer, a manufactured home retail salesman, or a
manufactured home manufacturer.
3. On at least three occasions within a twelve-month period, Respondent attempted to sell or did sell manufactured homes
in South Carolina. Specifically, Respondent entered into contracts to sell manufactured homes in the Myrtle Beach-area on
March 19, 2002, March 21, 2002, and June 25, 2002. However, the June 25 transaction was ultimately not completed
because of a dispute between Respondent and the proposed buyers of the manufactured home regarding the home's
suitability.
4. In October 2001, Board investigators began an investigation into whether East Coast Repos, Inc., and its principals,
Respondent and Ms. Cannon, were duly licensed to engage in the business of buying and selling manufactured housing in
South Carolina. During the course of the investigation, Board investigators determined that neither Respondent nor Ms.
Cannon was properly licensed to sell manufactured homes. Subsequently, investigators contacted Ms. Cannon and
informed her of South Carolina's licensure requirements regarding the sale of manufactured housing.
5. However, despite these conversations, Respondent and Ms. Cannon, as East Coast Repos, continued to engage in the
business of buying and selling manufactured homes without obtaining a license from the Board. In response to these
further sales of manufactured homes, the Board issued cease and desist orders to East Coast Repos, Inc., Ms. Cannon, and
Respondent on April 11, 2002. These orders required the named parties to "immediately cease and desist from engaging in
or [o]ffering to engage in the business of selling manufactured housing in South Carolina as a manufactured home dealer . .
. . until such time, if ever, that you become duly licensed to engage in the sale of manufactured housing." See Petitioner's
Ex. #8, at 1 (cease and desist order issued to Respondent Marvin Jenerette). Due to a mailing error, Respondent did not
receive his copy of the cease and desist order until May 21, 2002.
6. However, despite this cease and desist order, Respondent entered into a contract to sell a manufactured home to Stevens
Concrete, Inc. and Marcos and Fransco De Los Santos on June 25, 2002. In response to this further attempt by Respondent
to sell a manufactured home, the Board petitioned this tribunal for an order permanently enjoining Respondent from
engaging in the business of selling manufactured homes until such time as he is duly licensed to do so.
7. Respondent concedes that he was not properly licensed to sell manufactured housing in South Carolina and that he
entered into a contract to sell a manufactured home after receiving the cease and desist order from the Board. Respondent
further contends, however, that he did not understand the cease and desist order to apply to the June 25, 2002 sale, because
he entered into that contract as an individual, and not as an agent for East Coast Repos. Additionally, Respondent asserts
that this sale was his only involvement in the buying and selling of manufactured housing after receiving the cease and
desist order and that he has since retired from the manufactured home retail business.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact, I conclude the following as a matter of law:
1. Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 40-29-70 (Supp. 2002) and S.C. Code Ann. § 40-1-100(B) (2001), the Board is authorized
to petition an Administrative Law Judge for equitable relief to enjoin violations of the statutes and regulations pertaining to,
among other things, the sale of manufactured housing in South Carolina. Further, the Board is authorized to bring an action
before this tribunal for injunctive relief against a person violating an order of the Board. S.C. Code Ann. § 40-1-210
(2001). In such an action, this tribunal "may impose a fine of no more than ten thousand dollars" for each violation of the
Board's orders. Id. (emphasis added).
2. S.C. Code Ann. § 40-29-30(A) (Supp. 2002) provides that: "No person may engage in the business of selling, wholesale
or retail, as a manufactured home retail dealer, manufactured home retail salesman, or manufactured home manufacturer in
this State without being licensed by the [South Carolina Manufactured Housing] board." S.C. Code Ann. § 40-29-20(13)
(Supp. 2002) defines a "manufactured home retail dealer" as "a person engaged in the business of buying, selling, offering
for sale, or dealing in manufactured homes or offering for display manufactured homes for sale in South Carolina." This
Section further specifies that "[a] person who buys, sells, or deals in three or more manufactured homes in any twelve-month period or who offers or displays for sale three or more manufactured homes in a twelve-month period is considered a
manufactured home retail dealer." Id. (emphasis added).
3. In the case at hand, Respondent has sold or offered for sale at least three manufactured homes in South Carolina within a
twelve-month period. Respondent does not, however, hold a license from the Board to make such sales. Accordingly,
Respondent's conduct is in direct violation of Section 40-29-30(A).
4. An injunction is a proper remedy to prevent the violation of statutes regulating businesses or professions in which a
license is required. See S.C. Med. Malpractice Joint Underwriting Ass'n v. Froelich, 297 S.C. 400, 377 S.E.2d 306 (1989)
(enjoining out-of-state attorney from practicing law in South Carolina without a license); State ex rel. Love v. Howell, 281
S.C. 463, 316 S.E.2d 381 (1984) (enjoining unlicensed individual from practicing architecture until such time as he is
licensed by the State Board of Architectural Examiners). Further, any doubt concerning the necessity for an injunction to
safeguard the public interest should ordinarily be resolved in favor of the grant of relief. 43A C.J.S. Injunctions § 133(a)
(1978).
ORDER
Based upon the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law set forth above,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, effective immediately, Respondent Marvin Jenerette is PERMANENTLY
ENJOINED from further engaging in conduct that would constitute a violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 40-29-30(A) (Supp.
2002). Specifically, Respondent is permanently enjoined from engaging in or offering to engage in the business of buying
and selling manufactured housing in this State until such time, if ever, he obtains a license from the South Carolina
Manufactured Housing Board and is in compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________________
JOHN D. GEATHERS
Administrative Law Judge
Post Office Box 11667
Columbia, South Carolina 29211-1667
March 6, 2003
Columbia, South Carolina
1. The Board originally brought its Petition against Respondents Marvin Jenerette and Cindy Cannon. However, on the day
prior to the hearing, the Board informed this tribunal that it had resolved any and all issues involving Respondent Cannon
and that it wished to remove her as a party to the Petition for Injunctive Relief. This motion was granted on the record at
the start of the hearing of this matter, and Respondent Cannon has accordingly been removed as a party to the Petition, as
reflected by the amended caption above. |
