PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1134 PRINTER'S NO. 2169
No. 987 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY HOLL AND STAPLETON, MAY 31, 1989
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, APRIL 30, 1990
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Auctioneer Recovery Fund; and making a repeal.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 Section 1. Short title.
5 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Auctioneer
6 Recovery Fund Act.
7 Section 2. Establishment of fund.
8 There is hereby established the Auctioneer Recovery Fund for
9 the purposes hereinafter set forth in this act.
10 Section 3. Funding.
11 An auctioneer, apprentice auctioneer, auction company or
12 auction house licensee entitled to renew his license on or after
13 February 1, 1989 1991, shall, when so renewing his license, pay <--
14 in addition to the applicable license fee a further fee of $50
15 which shall be paid and credited to the Auctioneer Recovery
16 Fund. Thereafter, any person, upon receiving his initial
17 auctioneer's license, shall, in addition to all fees, pay into
1 the Auctioneer Recovery Fund a sum of $50. If, at the
2 commencement of any biennial renewal period beginning in 1989
3 and thereafter, the balance of the fund is less than $100,000,
4 the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners may assess an additional
5 fee, in addition to the renewal fee, against each licensee in an
6 amount, not to exceed $25, which will yield revenues sufficient
7 to bring the balance of the fund to $100,000. All said fees
8 shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to the
9 Auctioneer Recovery Fund, and said deposits shall be allocated
10 solely for the purposes of the fund as provided in this act. The
11 fund shall be invested, and interest and dividends shall accrue
12 to the fund. The bonding requirements of section 13 of the act
13 of December 22, 1983 (P.L.327, No.85), known as the Auctioneer
14 and Auction Licensing Act, shall not apply to a licensee who has
15 paid the required fee into the Auctioneer Recovery Fund.
16 Section 4. Application for recovery from fund.
17 (a) Procedure following judgment.--When any aggrieved person
18 obtains a final judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction
19 against any person licensed under the act of December 22, 1983
20 (P.L.327, No.85), known as the Auctioneer and Auction Licensing
21 Act, upon grounds of fraud, misrepresentation or deceit with
22 reference to any transaction for which a license is required
23 under the Auctioneer and Auction Licensing Act and the cause of
24 action occurred on or after the effective date of this act, the
25 aggrieved person may, upon termination of all proceedings,
26 including reviews and appeals, file an application in the court
27 in which the judgment was entered for an order directing payment
28 out of the Auctioneer Recovery Fund of the amount unpaid upon
29 the judgment.
30 (b) Application requirements.--The aggrieved person shall be
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1 required to show:
2 (1) That he is not a spouse of the debtor or the
3 personal representative of said spouse.
4 (2) That he has obtained a final judgment as set out in
5 this section.
6 (3) That all reasonable personal acts, rights of
7 discovery and such other remedies at law and in equity as
8 exist have been exhausted in the collection thereof.
9 (4) That he is making said application no more than one
10 year after the termination of the proceedings, including
11 reviews and appeals in connection with the judgment.
12 (c) Payments from fund.--When there is an order of the court
13 to make payment or a claim is otherwise to be levied against the
14 fund, such amount shall be paid to the claimant in accordance
15 with the limitations contained in this section. Notwithstanding
16 any other provisions of this section, the liability of that
17 portion of the fund allocated for the purpose of this act shall
18 not exceed $20,000 for any one claim and shall not exceed
19 $100,000 per licensee. If the $100,000 liability of the
20 Auctioneer Recovery Fund as provided herein, is insufficient to
21 pay in full claims adjudicated valid of all aggrieved persons
22 against any one licensee, such $100,000 shall be distributed
23 among them in such ratio that the respective claims of the
24 aggrieved applicants bear to the aggregate of such claims held
25 valid. If, at any time, the money deposited in the Auctioneer
26 Recovery Fund is insufficient to satisfy any duly authorized
27 claim or portion thereof, the State Board of Auctioneer
28 Examiners shall, when sufficient money has been deposited in the
29 fund, satisfy such unpaid claims or portions thereof in the
30 order that such claims or portions thereof were originally
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1 filed, plus accumulated interest at the rate of 6% a year.
2 (d) Joinder.--Upon petition of the State Board of Auctioneer
3 Examiners, the court may require all claimants and prospective
4 claimants against one licensee to be joined in one action, to
5 the end that the respective rights of all such claimants to the
6 Auctioneer Recovery Fund may be equitably adjudicated and
7 settled.
8 (e) License suspension and reimbursement of fund.--Should
9 the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners pay from the Auctioneer
10 Recovery Fund any amount in settlement of a claim as provided
11 for in this act against a licensee, the license of that person
12 shall automatically suspend upon the effective date of the
13 payment thereof by the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners. No
14 licensee shall be granted reinstatement until he has paid in
15 full, plus interest at the rate of 10% a year, the amount paid
16 from the Auctioneer Recovery Fund. The State Board of Auctioneer
17 Examiners may use any remedy available to it at law or in equity
18 against a licensee or the assets of a licensee in order to
19 reimburse the Auctioneer Recovery Fund for any amount paid from
20 the fund in settlement of a claim against the licensee.
21 (f) Permitted requests.--In order to promote the public
22 safety and welfare and reduce the incidence of transactions
23 leading to claims against the Auctioneer Recovery Fund, the
24 State Board of Auctioneer Examiners may include in its annual
25 budget request, funds for the following purposes:
26 (1) To carry out the advancement of education and
27 research in the auctioneering profession for the purpose of
28 improving the practice of auctioneering in this Commonwealth.
29 (2) To underwrite educational seminars, training centers
30 and other forms of educational projects for the use of
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1 licensees for the purpose of improving the practice of
2 auctioneering in this Commonwealth.
3 (3) To sponsor, contract for and underwrite any and all
4 other educational and research projects of a similar nature
5 for the purpose of improving the practice of auctioneering in
6 this Commonwealth.
7 (4) To cooperate with associations of auctioneers and
8 any and all other groups for the enlightenment and
9 advancement of the auctioneer profession in this
10 Commonwealth.
11 Section 5. Repeal.
12 Section 13 of the act of December 22, 1983 (P.L.327, No.85),
13 known as the Auctioneer and Auction Licensing Act, is repealed
14 insofar as it is inconsistent with this act.
15 Section 6. Effective date.
16 This act shall take effect January 31, 1990 1991. <--
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