Section 7.2 – Violation by Levels of Severity:

Rules exist to protect clients, customers, and MLS members. Discipline imposed for violation of the Rules shall be progressive and the severity of discipline shall increase incrementally for subsequent violations. The disciplinary emphasis where first time violations occur shall be primarily educational. Repeated or subsequent violations will result in more serious forms of discipline being utilized, including substantial fines, suspension, and termination of MLS rights and privileges. The Policies that govern the application of fines or penalties for violation of these Rules are contained in the SCCMLS Penalty Policy. A schedule of Violation Sanctions and Fines can be found in Section 25 herein. When one of the violations is found or reported by the MLS system notification the Subscriber will receive a Notice of Violation by SCCMLS imposing discipline and subsequently penalized by level of severity:

(1) Level I – electronic letter of warning (copy to participant)

(2) Level II – electronic letter of reprimand (copy to participant), a mandatory attendance at SCCMLS Rules and Regulations Orientation Class, $0 fine;

(3) Level III – a violation occurs, a fine of $50 will be assessed; AND/OR a mandatory attendance at SCCMLS Rules and Regulations Orientation Class;

(4) Level IV – a violation occurs, a fine of $100.00 will be assessed; AND a mandatory attendance at SCCMLS Rules and Regulations Orientation Class;

(5) Level V – a violation occurs, a fine of $250.00 will be assessed;

(6) Level VI – a violation occurs, a fine of $500 will be assessed; or 

(7) Level VII – a violation occurs, a fine of $1000.00 will be assessed;

(8) Level VIII - any appropriate, reasonable fine not to exceed $15,000; and

(9) any other remedies as outlined in Section 8 herein for Levels IV, V, VI, VII & VIII.

Note: When multiple violations are found in the same listing, they shall be treated as one violation and the most severe penalty available for any of the individual violations shall apply to all violations in that listing.

Section 7.3 – Compliance with Rules: 

The following actions may be taken by SCCMLS for failure to comply with these Rules:

(a) For failure to pay any service charge, fine or fee on or before the specified date due, and provided that said failure continues thereafter for at least ten (10) Days after notice has been given, the Subscriber’s MLS service may be suspended until all service charges, fees and fines are paid in full and any identified errors are corrected.

(b) For failure to comply with any other rule, the provisions of Sections 7 and 9 of these Rules shall apply.

Note: Discipline and/or sanctions shall be sufficient to constitute a deterrent to violation of the Rules and Regulations of the MLS Suspension or termination is an extreme sanction to be used in cases of extreme or repeated violation of the Rules and Regulations of SCCMLS. If the MLS desires to establish a series of fines, they should be clearly specified in the Rules and Regulations.

Section 7.4 - Applicability of Rules to Users and/or Subscribers:

Non-principal brokers, sales licensees, appraisers, and others authorized to have access to information published by the MLS are subject to these Rules and Regulations and may be disciplined for violations thereof provided that the user or Subscriber has signed an agreement acknowledging that access to and use of MLS information is contingent on compliance with the Rules and Regulations.  Further, failure of any user or Subscriber to abide by the Rules and/or any sanction imposed for violations thereof can subject the Participant to the same or other discipline.  This provision does not eliminate the Participant’s ultimate responsibility and accountability for all users or Subscribers affiliated with the Participant.

Section 7.5 – Notices:

Notices of violations and applicable fines associated with those violations shall be delivered according to the procedures defined in the SCCMLS Penalty Policy, as adopted by the Board and amended from time to time. Any notices required or permitted by these Rules to be sent by SCCMLS may be sent by either of the following two methods.

(A) By e-mail to either the e-mail address on file in the SCCMLS Roster Database or via internal e-mail delivery through the MLS system. Electronic messages are instantaneous. Therefore, Notice shall be deemed to have been constructively delivered at the time the e-mail message is sent to the recipient.

(B) By U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) mail to a postal address on file for a Subscriber or Participant at the postal address shown for the Participant’s office in the SCCMLS Roster Database. Notice shall be deemed to have been constructively delivered two (2) USPS Service Days after being deposited in the USPS system for delivery.

(C) Subscribers shall be responsible for maintaining current contact information, including mailing and e-mail addresses, with SCCMLS and with their Associations.

Section 7.6 – Compliance Audit:

The MLS Standards Committee may, as needed, require Brokers, to submit employment agreements, addenda, purchase agreements and counter parts, HUD statements, Affidavit of Property Value, and all relevant status changes for review by the MLS Standards Committee to ensure compliance with the MLS Rules and Regulations.

Section 7.7 – Monetary Modifications:

The monetary penalties and assessments provided for in this Section 7 may be modified from time to time by the Board of Directors.