§ 27-50-1209 — Foreclosure of liens

(a) (1) The failure of the owner or lienholder to exercise his, her, or its right to reclaim the vehicle and its contents within forty-five (45) days of the posting or publication of notice to owners and lienholders constitutes a waiver by the owner or lienholder of all right, title, and interest in the vehicle and its contents. (2) If a law enforcement official or other official refuses to release any hold on the vehicle or its contents, the owner or lienholder has an additional twenty (20) days to reclaim the vehicle and its contents after the date when the hold is released. (3) (A) The owner or lienholder may challenge any law enforcement official hold or other official hold under the procedures in § 27-50-1207(e) . (B) However, the provisions of § 27-50-1207(f) pertaining to release of the vehicle do not apply when the owner or lienholder challenges a law enforcement official hold or other official hold. (b) (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the towing and storage firm, municipality, or county that holds a perfected possessory lien on any vehicle and its contents not redeemed by its owner or security lienholder within the time frame provided by this section shall sell the vehicle and its contents at a nonjudicial public sale for cash. (2) The sale shall not occur later than ninety (90) days after perfection of the lien or forty-five (45) days after the release of any law enforcement hold or other official hold, whichever is later. (c) A vehicle that is held by a municipality or county on a storage lot owned and operated by the municipality or county may defer the public sale and make use of the vehicle for law enforcement purposes if: (1) The municipality or county complies with the notice provisions of § 27-50-1208 ; (2) The time frame as provided under subsection (a) of this section has expired; and (3) The municipality or county enacts an ordinance that: (A) Declares the municipality's or the county's policy regarding the deferral for law enforcement purposes; (B) Charges a specific municipal or county official with the responsibilities of: (i) Identifying the vehicles to be used by the municipality or county; and (ii) (a) Declaring a future date to publicly sell the vehicle pursuant to § 27-50-1210 . (b) The date of the sale shall be a maximum of six (6) months following the passage of the time frame for an owner or lienholder to reclaim a vehicle under subsection (a) of this section or as soon as is practicable if circumstances arise that prevent the sale on the declared sale date; and (C) Requires that the official ensure that the public sale proceed on the sale date declared in the ordinance. (d) (1) The towing and storage firm, municipality, or county shall obtain written verification that the Arkansas Crime Information Center records do not list the vehicle as having been reported stolen. (2) The verification shall be on a form prescribed by the center, the Office of Motor Vehicle, a municipal police department, a county sheriff's department, or the Division of Arkansas State Police. (3) When the verification provided by this subsection is sought directly from the center by the towing and storage firm, the center may charge a fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00) per vehicle verification. (e) (1) Notice of the sale shall be sent at least fifteen (15) days before the date of the sale by certified mail, no return receipt requested, to the registered owner and lienholder, if any. (2) If the data records of the Office of Motor Vehicle or the office of motor vehicles for the state where the vehicle is registered do not contain any information as to the last known registered owner or owners or lienholders, the notice required under subdivision (e)(1) of this section is not required. (3) Nothing in this subsection removes the requirement of notice of sale by publication under subsection (f) of this section. (f) In addition to the notice by mail, notice of the sale shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least one (1) time at least ten (10) days prior to the sale and shall be posted on the website that is sponsored and managed by the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board for that purpose.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2021, No. 794,§ 4, eff. 7/28/2021. Acts 2001, No. 1830, § 6; 2005, No. 1878, § 8; 2005, No. 2189, § 1; 2005, No. 2211, § 4; 2007, No. 506, § 3; 2007, No. 1053, § 12.