HF 2252 (LSB 5384HV (2) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2252

BY  COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 525)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to artisan’s liens and Iowa’s consumer frauds Act and making remedies applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  577.3  Possession to be surrendered upon notice from attorney general.
   1.  A supplier, as defined in section 537B.2, upon receipt of a written notice from the attorney general that the attorney general has reason to believe that the supplier has engaged in a deceptive act or practice pursuant to section 537B.6, subsections 2 through 12, in connection with a transaction in which the supplier is asserting a lien to personal property pursuant to this chapter, shall surrender possession of the property to the owner of the property. The supplier shall make the property available to the owner within one business day of receiving notice from the attorney general during the supplier’s usual business hours.
   2.  The attorney general shall serve the written notice pursuant to subsection 1 by certified mail and such notice shall be presumed to have been received by the supplier upon the earlier of the date of actual receipt, the date upon which the supplier refused initial delivery, or the date the supplier was notified was the last day to retrieve the delivery from the postal service.
   3.  The attorney general’s belief that the supplier has engaged in a deceptive act or practice pursuant to section 537B.6, subsections 2 through 12, the supplier’s surrendering possession of the motor vehicle to the owner pursuant to this section, and the attorney general’s service of notice on the supplier pursuant to this section shall not be admissible in any litigation between the supplier and the owner of the property subject to the lien unless the supplier fails to comply with the requirements of this section.
   4.  An otherwise valid lien under this chapter is not lost as a result of the supplier surrendering possession of the property pursuant to this section and an otherwise valid lien may be foreclosed pursuant to section 554.7308 within one year of the supplier surrendering possession under this section.
   5.  In addition to any other applicable remedy, the attorney general may seek relief against a supplier for a violation of this section to the same extent the attorney general may seek relief under section 714.16, subsection 6, for failure or refusal to obey a subpoena issued by the attorney general.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides that a supplier under Code section 537B.2 (a person offering to contract for repairs or service upon a motor vehicle), upon receipt of a written notice from the attorney general that the attorney general has reason to believe that the supplier has engaged in a deceptive act or practice under the motor vehicle service trade practices Act in connection with a transaction in which the supplier is asserting an artisan’s lien to personal property, is required to surrender possession of the property to the owner of the property within one business day of receiving notice during the supplier’s usual business hours. In addition, an otherwise valid artisan’s lien is not extinguished as a result of the supplier surrendering possession of the property and an otherwise valid artisan’s lien may be foreclosed pursuant to Code section 554.7308 within one year of the supplier surrendering possession under the bill.
   The bill provides that the attorney general’s belief that the supplier has engaged in a deceptive act or practice under the motor vehicle service trade practices Act, the supplier’s surrendering possession of the motor vehicle to the owner pursuant to the bill, and the attorney general’s service of notice on the supplier under the bill, is not admissible in any litigation between the supplier and the owner of the property subject to the lien unless the supplier fails to comply with the requirements of the bill.
   The bill provides that, in addition to any other applicable remedy, the attorney general may seek relief against a supplier for a violation of the bill to the same extent the attorney general may seek injunctive or other relief under Iowa’s consumer frauds Act for failure or refusal to obey a subpoena issued by the attorney general.