§ 41-02-45 — (2-328) Sale by auction

1. In a sale by auction, if goods are put up in lots, each lot is the subject of a separate
sale.
2. A sale by auction is complete when the auctioneer so announces by the fall of the
hammer or in other customary manner. If a bid is made while the hammer is falling in
acceptance of a prior bid, the auctioneer may in the auctioneer's discretion reopen the
bidding or declare the goods sold under the bid on which the hammer was falling.
3. Such a sale is with reserve unless the goods are in explicit terms put up without
reserve. In an auction with reserve the auctioneer may withdraw the goods at any time
until the auctioneer announces completion of the sale. In an auction without reserve,
after the auctioneer calls for bids on an article or lot, that article or lot cannot be
withdrawn unless no bid is made within a reasonable time. In either case a bidder may
retract the bidder's bid until the auctioneer's announcement of completion of the sale,
but a bidder's retraction does not revive any previous bid.
4. If the auctioneer knowingly receives a bid on the seller's behalf or the seller makes or
procures such a bid, and notice has not been given that liberty for such bidding is
reserved, the buyer may at the buyer's option avoid the sale or take the goods at the
price of the last good-faith bid prior to the completion of the sale. This subsection shall
not apply to any bid at a forced sale.