(1) An owner's lien, as provided for a
claim that has become due, may be satisfied as follows:
(a) No enforcement action shall be taken by the owner until the occupant has
been in default continuously for a period of thirty days.
(b) After the occupant has been in default continuously for thirty days, the
owner may begin enforcement action if the occupant has been notified in writing.
The owner shall deliver the notice in person or by verified mail or electronic mail to
the last-known address of the occupant and shall provide the notice to any
lienholder with an interest in the property to be sold or otherwise disposed of, of
whom the owner has knowledge through the disclosure provision on the rental
agreement, as evidenced by a financing statement filed with the secretary of state,
or through the owner's receipt of other written notice of such interest from the
lienholder.
(c) The notice shall include:
(I) An itemized statement of the owner's claim showing the sum due at the
time of the notice and the date when the sum became due;
(II) A brief and general description of the personal property subject to the
lien. Such description shall be reasonably adequate to permit the person notified to
identify such property; except that any container including, but not limited to, a
trunk, valise, or box that is locked, fastened, sealed, or tied in a manner which
deters immediate access to its contents may be described as such without
describing its contents.
(III) A notification of denial of access to the personal property, if such denial
is permitted under the terms of the rental agreement, which notification shall
provide the name, street address, and telephone number of the owner or his
designated agent whom the occupant may contact to respond to such notification;
(IV) A demand for payment within a specified time not less than fifteen days
after delivery of the notice;
(V) A conspicuous statement that, unless the claim is paid within the time
stated in the notice, the personal property will be advertised for sale or other
disposition and will be sold or otherwise disposed of at a specified time and place.
(d) If the owner sends notice of a pending sale of property to the occupant's
last-known email address and does not receive a response, return receipt, or
delivery confirmation from the same email address, the owner must send notice of
the sale to the occupant by verified mail to the occupant's last-known postal
address before proceeding with the sale.
(e) (I) After the expiration of the time given in the notice, the owner shall
advertise the sale of the personal property either by:
(A) Publishing an advertisement of the sale once a week for two consecutive
weeks in a periodical that circulates weekly or more frequently in the county where
the self-service storage facility is located; or
(B) Advertising the sale in any other commercially reasonable manner. The
manner of advertisement is deemed commercially reasonable if at least three
independent bidders attend the sale at the time and place advertised.
(II) As used in this paragraph (e), independent bidder means a bidder who is
not related to and who has no controlling interest in, or common pecuniary interest
with, the owner or any other bidder.
(f) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2011, (SB 11-039), ch. 92, p. 272, � 2, effective
August 10, 2011.)
(g) (I) Any sale or other disposition of the personal property must be held:
(A) On an online auction website that customarily conducts public auctions;
(B) At the self-service storage facility; or
(C) At the nearest suitable place to where the personal property is held or
stored.
(II) If the property upon which the lien is claimed is a vehicle or watercraft,
and rent and other charges related to the property remain unpaid or unsatisfied for
sixty days:
(A) The owner may have the property towed from the self-service storage
facility by an independent towing carrier holding current and valid operating
authority from the Colorado public utilities commission; and
(B) The owner is not liable for the property, or for any damages to the
property, once the towing carrier takes possession of the property.
(III) The owner is not liable for identity theft or other harm resulting from the
misuse of information contained in documents or electronic storage media:
(A) That are part of the occupant's property sold or otherwise disposed of;
and
(B) Of which the owner did not have actual knowledge.
(h) Before any sale or other disposition of personal property pursuant to this
section, the occupant may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lien and the
reasonable expenses incurred under this section and thereby redeem the personal
property. Upon receipt of such payment, the owner shall return the personal
property, and thereafter the owner shall have no liability to any person with respect
to such personal property.
(i) A purchaser in good faith of the personal property sold to satisfy a lien as
provided in this article takes the property free of any rights of persons against
whom the lien was valid and free of any rights of a secured creditor, despite
noncompliance by the owner with the requirements of this section.
(j) In the event of a sale under this section, the owner may satisfy his lien
from the proceeds of the sale, subject to the rights of any prior lienholder. The lien
rights of such prior lienholder are automatically transferred to the proceeds of the
sale. If the sale is made in good faith and is conducted in a reasonable manner, the
owner shall not be subject to any surcharge for a deficiency in the amount of a prior
secured lien but shall hold the balance, if any, for delivery to the occupant,
lienholder, or other person in interest. If the occupant, lienholder, or other person in
interest does not claim the balance of the proceeds within three years of the date
of sale, it shall become the property of the owner without further recourse by the
occupant, lienholder, or other person in interest.
(k) Nothing in this section affects the rights and liabilities of the owner or the
occupant if:
(I) The requirements of this article are not satisfied;
(II) The sale of the personal property is not in conformity with the notice of
sale; or
(III) There is a willful violation of this article.