Section 87-48 - Penalty for violation of Article; powers of Board to enjoin violation(a) Any person, partnership, firm, or corporation that violates any of the provisions of this Article or that engages or offers to engage in the business of installing, maintaining, altering, or repairing within North Carolina any electric wiring, devices, appliances, or equipment without first having obtained a license under the provisions of this Article is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.(b) Whenever it shall appear to the State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors that any person, partnership, firm or corporation has violated, is violating, or threatens to violate any provisions of this Article, the Board may apply to the courts of the State for a restraining order and injunction to restrain such practices. If upon such application the court finds that any provision of this Article is being violated, or a violation thereof is threatened, the court shall issue an order restraining and enjoining such violations, and such relief may be granted regardless of whether criminal prosecution is instituted under the provisions of this Article. The venue for actions brought under this subsection shall be the superior court of any county in which such acts are alleged to have been committed or in the county where the defendants in such action reside.(c) When the Board prevails in actions brought under this section, the court shall award the Board its reasonable attorney's fee not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) plus the costs associated with obtaining the relief and the investigation and prosecution of the violation.(d) Examination applicants who have failed to pay a court award pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall not be allowed to take any examination offered by the Board until the award has been satisfied.Amended by 2024 N.C. Sess. Laws 49,s. 3.1-b, eff. 9/11/2024, applicable to actions filed or commenced on or after that date.Amended by 2021 N.C. Sess. Laws 84, s. 5, eff. 12/1/2021.1937, c. 87, s. 13; 1969 , c. 669, s. 1; 1979 , c. 904, s. 14; 1989 , c. 709, s. 10; 1993 , c. 539, s. 606; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).