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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 1927 By: Sims
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to liens; amending 42 O.S. 2021,
Sections 91 and 91A, which relate to liens on
personal property; requiring proper ty to be possessed
for a certain number of days be fore Notice of Sale
can be mailed; prohibiting additional fees for
resubmission of title application under certain
circumstances; providing that a Notice of Possessory
Lien and the Notice of Sale may be mai led on the date
of title application submission; r equiring in the
event of title application resubmissions the storage
charges shall only be charged from the date of
resubmission; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PE OPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 42 O.S. 2021, Section 91,
is amended to read as follows:
Section 91.
A. 1. a. This section applies to every vehicle, all -terrain
vehicle, utility vehicle, manufactured home,
motorcycle, boat, outboard motor, or trailer that ha s
a certificate of title issued by the Oklahoma Tax
Commission or by a federally recognized Indian tribe
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in the State of Oklahoma, except as otherwise provided
in subsection D of this section. This section does
not apply to farm equipment as defined in Se ction 91.2
of this title. The items of personal property to
which this section applies are collectively referred
to as "Section 91 Personal Property ". If personal
property is apparently covered both by th is section
and by Sections 191 through 200 of this title, the
procedures set out in this section shall apply instead
of Sections 191 through 200 of this title.
b. Salvage pools as defined in Section 591.2 of Title 47
of the Oklahoma Statutes and class AA l icensed wrecker
services taking possession of a ve hicle pursuant to an
agreement with or at the direction of, or dispatched
by, a state or local law enforcement or government
agency, or pursuant to the abandoned vehicle renewal
provisions of Section 954A o f Title 47 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, shall not be subject to the provisions of
this section, but shall be subject to the provisions
of Section 91A of this title. Unless otherwise
provided by this subparagraph, class AA licensed
wrecker services performing consensual tows shall be
subject to the provision s of this section.
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2. Any person who, while lawfully in possession of an article
of Section 91 Personal Property, renders any service to the owner
thereof by furnishing storage, rental space, material, lab or or
skill for the protection, improvement, safek eeping, towing, right to
occupy space, storage or carriage thereof, has a special lien
thereon, dependent on possession, for the compensation, if any,
which is due to such person from the owner for such ser vice.
3. This special lien shall be subordinate t o any perfected
security interest unless the claimant complies with the requirements
of this section. Failure to comply with any requirements of this
section shall result in denial of any title application and cause
the special lien to be subordinate to a ny perfected lien. Upon such
denial, the applicant shall be entitled to one resubmission of the
title application within fifteen (15) business days of receipt of
the denial, and proceed to comply with the requirements of this
section. In the event of a d enial, the Notice of Possessory Lien
and the Notice of Sale may be mailed on the same day in separate
envelopes and storage charges shall only be charged from the date of
resubmission; however, before a Not ice of Sale is to be mailed, the
personal property must have been possessed by the possessory lien
claimant for at least twenty -one (21) days. Furthermore, if the
denial was due to error by the party submitting the title
application, then no additional fe e for the resubmission shall be
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charged to the property owner. "Failure to comply" includes, but is
not limited to:
a. failure to timely provide additional documentation
supporting or verifying any entry on submitted forms
as requested by the Tax Commissi on, including but not
limited to United States Pos tal Service proof of
return receipt requested such as Form 3811 or United
States Postal Service electronic equivalent,
b. failure to provide the documentation supporting lawful
possession as defined in para graph 3 of subsection H
of this section,
c. claimant or the agent being other than the individual
who provided the service giving rise to the special
lien, as in paragraph 2 of this subsection,
d. claimant not being in possession of the vehicle,
e. notice of lien not filed in accordance with paragraph
4 of this subsection, or
f. foreclosure notification and proceedings not
accomplished in accordance with paragraph 6 of this
section.
4. Any person claiming the special lien provided in paragraph 2
of this subsection shall mail a notice of such lien, no late r than
sixty (60) days after the first services are rendered, by regular,
first-class United States mail, and by certified mail, return
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receipt requested, to all interested parties who reside at separate
locations. If services provided are pursuant to a c ontract
primarily for the purpose of storage or rental of space, the
beginning date of the sixty -day period provided in the previous
sentence shall be the first day of the first period or partial
period for which rental or storage charges remain unpaid. T he
notice shall be in writing and shall contain, but not be limited to,
the following:
a. a statement that the notice is a Notice of Possessory
Lien,
b. the complete legal name, physical and mailing address ,
and telephone number of the claimant,
c. the complete legal name, physical and mailing address
of the person who requested that the claimant render
service to the owner by furnishing material, labor or
skill, storage, or rental space, or the date the
property was abandoned if the claimant did not render
any other service,
d. a description of the article of personal property,
including a photograph if the property is Section 91
Personal Property, and the complete physical and
mailing address of the locatio n of the article of
personal property,
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e. an itemized statement describing the date or dates the
labor or services were performed and material
furnished, and the charges claimed for each item, the
totals of which shall equal the total compensation
claimed,
f. a statement by the claimant that the materials , labor
or skill furnished, or arrangement for storage or
rental of space, was authorized by the owner of the
personal property and was in fact provided or
performed, and written proof of authority to perfo rm
the work, labor or service, or that the propert y was
abandoned by the owner if the claimant did not render
any other service, and that storage or rental fees
will accrue as allowed by law, and
g. the signature of the claimant which shall be notarized
and, if applicable, the signature of the claimant 's
attorney. If the claimant is a business, then the
name of the contact person representing the business
must be shown. In place of an original signature and
notary seal, a digital or electronic signature o r seal
shall be accepted.
5. For services rendere d or vehicles abandoned on or after
November 1, 2005, storage charges or charges for rental of space,
unless agreed to by contract as part of an overall transaction or
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arrangement that was primarily for the purpose of storage of the
Section 91 Personal Pro perty or rental of space, may only be
assessed beginning with the day that the Notice of Possessory Lien
is mailed as evidenced by certified mail. Provided, however, in the
case of contractual charges incu rred for storage or rental of space
in an overall transaction primarily for the purpose of storage or
rental, charges subject to the special lien may only be assessed
beginning with a date not more than sixty (60) days prior to the day
that the Notice of P ossessory Lien is mailed, and shall accrue only
at the regular periodic rate for storage or rental as provided in
the contract, adjusted for partial periods of storage or rental.
The maximum allowable compensation for storage shall not exceed the
fees established by the Corporation Commission for noncons ensual
tows.
6. The lien may be foreclosed by a sale of such personal
property upon the notice and in the manner following: The Notice of
Sale shall be in writing and shall contain, but not be limited to:
a. a statement that the notice is a Notice of Sal e,
b. the names of all interested parties known to the
claimant,
c. a description of the property to be sold, including a
photograph if the property is Section 91 Personal
Property and if the condition of s uch property has
materially changed since the mail ing of Notice of
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Possessory Lien required pursuant to paragraph 4 of
this subsection,
d. a notarized statement of the nature of the work, labor
or service performed, material furnished, or storage
or rental of space, and the date thereof, and the name
of the person who authorized the work, labor or
service performed, or the storage or rental
arrangement, and written proof of authority to perform
the work, labor or service, or that the property was
abandoned if the claimant did not render any other
service,
e. the date, time, and exact physical location of sale,
f. the name, complete physical address, mailing address,
and telephone number of the party foreclosing such
lien. If the claimant is a business, then the name of
the contact person representing the b usiness must be
shown. In place of an original signature and notary
seal, a digital or electronic signature or seal shall
be accepted, and
g. itemized charges which shall equal the total
compensation claimed.
7. Such Notice of Sale shall be posted in two public places in
the county where the property is to be sold at least ten (10) days
before the time therein specified for such sale, and a copy of the
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notice shall be mailed to all interested parties at th eir last-known
post office address by regular, fir st-class United States mail and
by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least ten (10) days
before the date of the sale. If the item of personal property is a
manufactured home, notice shall also b e sent by certified mail to
the county treasurer a nd to the county assessor of the county where
the manufactured home is located.
8. Interested parties shall include all owners of the article
of personal property as indicated by the certificate of title i ssued
by the Tax Commission or by a federally reco gnized Indian tribe in
the State of Oklahoma; lien debtors, if any, other than the owners;
any lienholder whose lien is noted on the face of the certificate of
title; and any other person having any interes t in the article of
personal property, of whom the claimant has actual notice.
9. Any interested party shall be permitted to inspect and
verify the services rendered by the claimant prior to the sale of
the article of personal property during normal busin ess hours. The
lienholder shall be allowed to ret rieve the Section 91 Personal
Property without being required to bring the title into the
lienholder's name, if the lienholder provides proof it is a
lienholder and any payment due the claimant for lawful c harges where
the claimant has complied with the re quirements of this section.
Upon the release of personal property to an insurer or
representative of the insurer, wrecker operators shall be exempt
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from all liability and shall be held harmless for any los ses or
claims of loss.
10. The claimant or any ot her person may in good faith become a
purchaser of the property sold.
11. Proceedings for foreclosure under this act shall be
commenced no sooner than ten (10) days and no later than thirty (30)
days after the Notice of Possessory Lien has been mailed as
evidenced by certified mail. The date actually sold shall be within
sixty (60) days from the date of the Notice of Sale as evidenced by
certified mail.
B. 1. a. Any person who is induced by means of a che ck or other
form of written order for immediate pa yment of money
to deliver up possession of an article of personal
property on which the person has a special lien
created by subsection A of this section, which check
or other written order is dishonored, o r is not paid
when presented, shall have a lien fo r the amount
thereof upon the personal property.
b. The person claiming such lien shall, within thirty
(30) days from the date of dishonor of the check or
other written order for payment of money, file in t he
office of the county clerk of the county in whi ch the
property is situated a sworn statement that:
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(1) the check or other written order for immediate
payment of money, copy thereof being attached,
was received for labor, material or supplies for
producing or repairing an article of personal
property, or for other specific property -related
services covered by this section,
(2) the check or other written order was not paid,
and
(3) the uttering of the check or other written order
constituted the means for inducing the person,
one possessed of a special li en created by
subsection A of this section upon the described
article of personal property, to deliver up the
article of personal property.
2. a. Any person who renders service to the owner of an
article of personal property by furnishing storage,
rental space, material, labor, or skill for the
protection, improvement, safekeeping, towing, right to
occupy space, storage, or carriage thereof shall have
a special lien on such property pursuant to this
section if such property is removed from the person 's
possession, without such person 's written consent or
without payment for such service.
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b. The person claiming such lien shall, within five (5)
days of such nonauthorized removal, file in the office
of the county clerk of the county in which the
property is located, a sworn statement including:
(1) that services were rendered on or in relation to
the article of personal property by the person
claiming such lien,
(2) that the property was in the possession of the
person claiming the lien but such property was
removed without his or her written consent,
(3) an identifying description of the article of
personal property on which the service was
rendered, and
(4) that the debt for the services rendered on or in
relation to the article of personal property was
not paid. Provided, if the unpaid total amount
of the debt for services rendered on or in
relation to the article of personal property is
unknown, an approximated amount of the debt due
and owing shall be includ ed in the sworn
statement but such approximated de bt may be
amended within thirty (30) days of such filing to
reflect the actual amount of the debt due and
owing.
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3. The enforcement of the lien shall be within sixty (60) days
after filing the lien in the manner provided by law for enforcing
the lien of a security agreement and provided that the lien shall
not affect the rights of innocent, intervening purchasers without
notice.
C. If the person who renders service to the owner of an article
of personal property to which this section applies relinquishes or
loses possession of the article due to circumstances described in
subparagraph a of paragraph 1 or subparagraph a of paragraph 2 of
subsection B of this section, the person claiming the lien shall be
entitled to possession of the article until the amoun t due is paid,
unless the article is possessed by a person who became a bona fide
purchaser. Entitlement to possession shall be in accordance with
the following:
1. The claimant may take possession of an article pursuant to
this subsection only if the pe rson obligated under the contract for
services has signed an acknowledgement of receipt of a notice that
the article may be subject to repossession. The notice and
acknowledgement pursuant to this subsecti on shall be:
a. in writing and separate from the w ritten contract for
services, or
b. printed on the written contract for services, credit
agreement or other document which displays the notice
in bold-faced, capitalized and underlined type, or is
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separated from surrounding written material so as to
be conspicuous with a separate signature line;
2. The claimant may require the person obligated under the
contract for services to pay the costs of repossession as a
condition for reclaiming the article only to the extent of the
reasonable fair market value of the services required to take
possession of the article;
3. The claimant shall not transfer to a third party or to a
person who performs repossession services, a check, money order, or
credit card transact ion that is received as payment for services
with respect to an article and that is returned to the claimant
because of insufficient funds or no funds, because the person
writing the check, issuing the money order, or credit cardholder has
no account or because the check, money order, or credit card accou nt
has been closed. A person violating this paragraph shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor; and
4. An article that is repossessed pursuant to this subsection
shall be promptly delivered to the location where the services were
performed. The article shall re main at the services location at all
times until the article is lawfully returned to the record owner or
a lienholder or is disposed of pursuant to this section.
D. 1. If a vehicle, all -terrain vehicle, utility vehicle,
manufactured home, motorcycle, boa t, outboard motor, or trailer has
a certificate of title issued by the Tax Commission or by a
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federally recognized Indian tribe in the State of Oklahoma, but
there is no active lien recorded on the certific ate of title,
Section 91A of this title will apply instead of this section.
Likewise, if there is an active lien recorded on the certificate of
title but the lien is over fifteen (15) years old and the property
is not a manufactured home, Section 91A of t his title will apply
instead of this section.
2. If personal property that otherwise would be covered by this
section has been registered by the Tax Commission or by a federally
recognized Indian tribe in the State of Oklahoma, and there is a
lien of record but no certificate of title has been issued, Se ction
91A of this title will apply instead of this section.
3. If personal property otherwise would be covered by this
section, but the services were rendered or the property was
abandoned prior to Novembe r 1, 2005, Section 91A of this title will
apply instead of this section.
E. A person who knowingly makes a false statement of a material
fact regarding the furnishing of storage, rental space, material,
labor or skill for the protection, improvement, safe keeping, towing,
right to occupy space, storage or carriage thereof in a proceeding
under this section, or attempts to use or uses the provisions of
this section to foreclose an owner or lienholder 's interest in a
vehicle knowing that any of the statements made in the proceeding
are false, upon conviction , shall be guilty of a felony.
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F. Upon receipt of notice of legal proceedings, the Tax
Commission shall cause the sale process to be put on hold until
notice of resolution of court proceedings is received from the
court. If such notice of commencement of court proceedings is not
filed with the Tax Commission, the possessory lien sale process may
continue.
G. No possessory lien sale shall be held on a Sunday.
H. For purposes of this section:
1. "Possession" includes actual possession and constructive
possession;
2. "Constructive possession " means possession by a person who,
although not in actual possession, does not have an intention to
abandon property, knowingly has both power and the intention at a
given time to exercise dominion or control over the property, and
who holds claim to such thing by virtue of some legal right;
3. "Lawfully in possession " means a person has documentation
from the owner or the owner 's authorized agent, or an insurance
company or its authorized agent, authorizing the furni shing of
material, labor or storage, or that the property was authorized to
be towed to a repair facility. If the person lacks such
documentation, he or she shall not be lawfully in possession of the
Section 91 Personal Property and shall not be entitled to a special
lien as set forth in this section; and
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4. "Itemized charges" means total parts, total labor, total
towing fees, total storage fees, total processing fees and totals of
any other fee groups, th e sum total of which shall equal the
compensation claimed.
I. For purposes of this section, the United States Postal
Service approved electronic equivalent of proof of return receipt
requested Form 3811 shall satisfy return receipt requested
documentation requirements.
J. If a person claiming a special lien pursuant to this section
fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, any
interested party may proceed against the person claiming such lien
for all damages arising therefrom, includin g conversion, if the
article of personal property has been sold. If the notice or
notices required by this section shall be shown to be knowingly
false or fraudulent, the interested party shall be entitled to
treble damages. The prevailing party shall be entitled to all
costs, including reasonable attor ney fees.
K. This section shall apply to all actions or proceedings that
commence on or after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 42 O.S. 2021, Section 91a, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 91a. A. 1. a. This section applies to all types of
personal property other than:
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(1) farm equipment as defined in Section 91.2 of this
title, and
(2) "Section 91 Personal Property " as defined in
Section 91 of this title .
b. This section applies to any vehicle, all -terrain
vehicle, utility vehicle, manufactured home,
motorcycle, boat, outboard motor, or trailer that is
excluded from coverage under subsection A of Section
91 of this title because the personal property:
(1) does not have a certificate of title,
(2) has a certificate of title but does not have an
active lien recorded on the certificate of title,
(3) has a certificate of title that is not issued by
the Oklahoma Tax Commission or by a federally
recognized Indian tribe in the State of Oklahoma,
or
(4) is otherwise excluded by subparagraph b of
paragraph 1 of subsection A of Section 91 of this
title or subsection D of Section 91 of this
title.
c. If personal property has a certificate of title, or
would be required to have a certificate of title under
Oklahoma law, and is apparently covered both by this
section and by Sections 191 through 200 of this title,
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the procedures set out in this section shall apply
instead of Sections 191 through 200 of this title. If
personal property without a certificate of title and
not required to be titled under Oklahoma law is
covered both by this section and Sections 191 through
200 of this title, the procedures set out in Sections
191 through 200 of this title shall apply instead of
this section.
2. a. Any person who, while lawfu lly in possession of an
article of personal property to which this section
applies, renders any service to the owner thereof by
furnishing storage, rental space, material, labor or
skill for the protection, improvement, safekeeping,
towing, right to occupy space, storage or carriage
thereof, has a special lien thereon, dependent on
possession, for the compensation, if any, which is due
to such person from the owner for such service.
Charges owed under a con tract primarily for the
purpose of storage or rent al of space shall be accrued
only at the regular periodic rate for storage or
rental as provided in the contract, adjusted for
partial periods of storage or rental.
b. Except for Class AA licensed wrecker t owing charges,
the special lien shall be subordina te to any perfected
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security interest unless the claimant complies with
the requirements of this section. Failure to comply
with any requirements of this section shall result in
denial of any title applica tion and cause the special
lien to be subordinate to any perfected lien. Upon
such denial, the applicant shall be entitled to one
resubmission of the title application within thirty
(30) business days of receipt of the denial, and
proceed to comply with t he requirements of this
section. In the event of a denial, the Notice of
Possessory Lien and the Notice of Sale may be mailed
on the same day in separate envelopes and storage
charges shall only be charged from the date of
resubmission; however, before a Notice of Sale is to
be mailed, the personal prope rty must have been
possessed by the possessory lien claimant for at least
twenty-one (21) days. Furthermore, if the denial was
due to error by the party submitting the title
application, then no additional fee for the
resubmission shall be charged to the property owner.
"Failure to comply" includes, but is not limited to:
(1) failure to timely provide additional
documentation supporting or verifying any entry
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on submitted forms as requested by the Tax
Commission,
(2) failure to provide the documentation s upporting
lawful possession as outlined in paragraph 3 of
subsection H of this section,
(3) claimant being other than the individual who
provided the service giving rise to the special
lien, as in subparagr aph a of this paragraph,
(4) claimant not being in possession of the vehicle,
or
(5) notification and proceedings not accomplished in
accordance with subparagraph c of this paragraph,
and paragraph 3 of this subsection.
c. Any person claiming a lien under this section shall
request, within five (5) busine ss days of performing
any service or work on the property, the Tax
Commission or other appropriate license agency to
furnish the name and address of the current owner of
and any lienholder upon the property . The Motor
Vehicle Division of the Tax Commissio n or appropriate
license agency shall respond in person or by mail to
the lien claimant within ten (10) business days of the
receipt of the request for information. The Tax
Commission shall render assistan ce to ascertain
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ownership, if needed. The lien cl aimant shall send,
within seven (7) business days of receipt of the
requested information from the Oklahoma Tax Commission
or other license agency, a notice of the location of
the property by certified mail with return receipt
requested, postage prepaid, t o the owner and any
lienholder of the vehicle at the addresses furnished.
The lien claimant may charge Twenty Dollars ($20.00)
for processing plus the cost of postage if the notice
is timely sent pursuant to the requirements of this
subparagraph in additi on to fees regulated by the
Oklahoma Corporation Commission for licensed wreckers.
If the lien claimant is unable to meet the time
requirements due to a lack of or an altered vehicle
identification number on the property, the lien
claimant shall proceed d iligently to obtain the proper
vehicle identification number and shall meet the time
requirements on the notice once the vehicle
identification number is known. If the lien claimant
is required to send add itional notices because of
change of ownership or lienholder after it has timely
complied with the requirements of this subparagraph,
the lien claimant shall remain in compliance if such
additional notices are sent within the required time
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periods from the date of discovery of the new owners
or lienholders. The notice shall be in writing and
shall contain, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) a statement that the notice is a Notice of
Possessory Lien,
(2) the complete legal name, physical and mailing
address, and telephone number of the claimant,
(3) the complete legal name, physical and mailing
address of the person who requested that the
claimant render service to the owner by
furnishing material, labor or skill, storage, or
rental space, or the date the property was
abandoned if the claimant did no t render any
other service,
(4) a description of the article of personal
property, and the complete physical and mailing
address of the location of the article of
personal property,
(5) the nature of the wo rk, labor or service
performed, material furnished , or the storage or
rental arrangement, and the date thereof, and
written proof of authority to perform the work,
labor or service provided that, in the case of a
law enforcement directed tow, the logbook e ntry
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prescribed in OAC 595:25 -5-5 or the tow ticket as
defined by the Corporation Commission shall serve
as written proof of authority,
(6) the signature of the claimant which shall be
notarized and, if applicable, the signature of
the claimant's attorney. If the claimant is a
business, the name of the c ontact person
representing the business shall be shown. In
place of an original signature and notary seal, a
digital or electronic signature or seal shall be
accepted, and
(7) an itemized statement describ ing the date or
dates the labor or services were p erformed and
material furnished and the charges claimed for
each item, the totals of which shall equal the
total compensation claimed.
The lien claimant shall not be required to send the
notice required in this subparagraph if the property
is released to an interested party before the notice
is mailed and no additional charges or fees continue
to accrue. If a law enforcement agency has the
property towed to a law enforcement facility, the
person claiming a lien under this section shall not be
required to send notice until the property is released
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by law enforcement to the claimant or the date which
claimant starts charging storage, whichever is
earlier. A lien claimant shall have an extension of
ten (10) business days to send the notice required in
this subparagraph if a state of emergency has been
declared in the county in which the property is
located.
d. Subparagraphs b and c of this paragraph shall not
apply to salvage pools as defined in Section 591.2 o f
Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
3. The lien may be foreclosed by a sale of such personal
property upon the notice and in the manner following: The notice
shall be in writing and shall contain, but not be limited to:
a. the names of the owner and any other known party or
parties who may claim any in terest in the property,
b. a description of the property to be sold, including a
visual inspection or a photograph if the property is a
motor vehicle, and the physical location of the
property,
c. the nature of the work, labor or service performed,
material furnished, or the storage or rental
arrangement, and the date thereof, and written proof
of authority to perform the work, labor or service
provided. In the case of a law enforcement directed
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tow, the logbook entry prescribed in OAC 595:25 -5-5 or
the tow ticket as defined by the Corporation
Commission, shall serve as written proof of authority,
d. the time and place of sale,
e. the name, telephone number, physical address and
mailing address of the claima nt, and agent or
attorney, if any, foreclosing suc h lien. If the
claimant is a business, then the name of the contact
person representing the business must be shown. In
place of an original signature and notary seal, a
digital or electronic signature or seal shall be
accepted, and
f. itemized charges which shall equal the total
compensation claimed.
4. a. Such Notice of Sale shall be posted in two public
places in the county where the property is to be sold
at least ten (10) days before the time therein
specified for such sale, and a copy of the notice
shall be mailed to the owner and any other party
claiming any interest in the property, if known, at
their last-known post office address, by certified
mail, return receipt requested, at least ten (10) days
before the time therein specified for such sale. If
the item of personal property is a manufactured home,
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notice shall also be sent by certified mail to the
county treasurer and to the county assessor of the
county where the manufactured home is located.
b. In the case of any item of personal property wi thout a
certificate of title and not required to be titled
under Oklahoma law, a party who claims any interest in
the property shall include all owners of the property;
any secured party who has an active f inancing
statement on file with the county clerk o f Oklahoma
County listing one or more owners of the property by
legal name as debtors and indicating a collateral
description that would include the property; and any
other person having any interest in the personal
property, of whom the claimant has actua l notice.
c. In the case of personal property subject to this
section for which a certificate of title has been
issued by any jurisdiction, a party who claims any
interest in the property shall include all owners of
the article of personal property as indi cated by the
certificate of title; lien debtors, if any, other than
the owners; any lienholder whose lien is noted on the
face of the certificate of title; and any other person
having any interest in the ar ticle of personal
property, of whom the claimant h as actual notice.
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d. When the jurisdiction of titling for a vehicle, all -
terrain vehicle, motorcycle, boat, outboard motor, or
trailer that is five (5) model years old or newer, or
a manufactured home that is fifteen (15) model years
old or newer, cannot b e determined by ordinary means,
the claimant, the agent of the claimant, or the
attorney of the claimant, shall request, in writing,
that the Oklahoma Tax Commission Motor Vehicle
Division ascertain the jur isdiction where the vehicle
or manufactured home i s titled. The Oklahoma Tax
Commission Motor Vehicle Division shall, within
fourteen (14) days from the date the request is
received, provide information as to the jurisdiction
where the personal property i s titled. If the
Oklahoma Tax Commission Motor Ve hicle Division is
unable to provide the information, it shall provide
notice that the record is not available.
e. When personal property is of a type that Oklahoma law
requires to be titled, the owner of re cord of that
property is unknown, and the jurisdic tion of titling
and owner of record cannot be determined by ordinary
means and also, if applicable, cannot be determined in
accordance with the preceding subparagraph, then the
special lien may be foreclose d by publication of a
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legal notice in a legal news paper in the county where
the personal property is located, as defined in
Section 106 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
Such notice shall include the description of the
property by year, make, vehicle identification number
if available from the proper ty, the name of the
individual who may be contacted for information, and
the telephone number of that person or the address
where the vehicle is located. The legal notice shall
be published once per week f or three (3) consecutive
weeks. As soon as circum stances exist as described in
the first sentence of this subparagraph, the first
date of publication may occur even if the special lien
has not accrued for over thirty (30) days. The first
date available for public sale of the vehicle is the
day following publication of the final notice, but no
fewer than thirty (30) days after the lien has
accrued. When the owner of record is unknown, the
Notice of Sale nevertheless must be completed and
mailed to any known interested party by certified
mail. For purposes of this paragraph, interested
parties shall include all persons described in
subparagraph b or subparagraph c of this paragraph,
whichever is applicable, with the exception of any
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owner who is unknown. Except in circumstances
described in paragraph 7 o f this subsection that
provide for a shorter time period, the Notice of Sale
shall be posted in two public places in the county
where the property is to be sold at least ten (10)
days before the time therei n specified for such sale,
and the Notice of Sale shall not be mailed until at
least thirty (30) days after the lien has accrued.
5. The lienor or any other person may in good faith become a
purchaser of the property sold.
6. Proceedings for foreclosure under this act shall not be
commenced until thirty (30) days after the lien has accrued, except
as provided elsewhere in Oklahoma law.
7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, proceedings for
foreclosures for the storage of junk vehicles towed and s tored
pursuant to Section 955 of Title 47 of the O klahoma Statutes by
Class AA wreckers listed with the Motor Vehicle Division of the
Department of Public Safety, may be commenced five (5) days after
the lien has accrued. For purposes of this paragraph, "junk
vehicles" means any vehicle that is more than ten (10) years old if
the cost of a comparable vehicle would be less than Three Hundred
Dollars ($300.00) as quoted in the latest edition of the National
Automobile Dealers Association Official Used Car Gu ide or latest
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monthly edition of any other nationa lly recognized published
guidebook, adjusting to the condition of the vehicle.
B. 1. a. Any person who is induced by means of a check or other
form of written order for immediate payment of money
to deliver up possession of an article of personal
property on which the person has a special lien
created by subsection A of this section, which check
or other written order is dishonored, or is not paid
when presented, shall have a lien for the amount
thereof upon the personal property.
b. The person claiming suc h lien shall, within thirty
(30) days from the date of dishonor of the check or
other written order for payment of money, file in the
office of the county clerk of the county in which the
property is situated a sworn statement that:
(1) the check or other written order for immediate
payment of money, copy thereof being attached,
was received for labor, material or supplies for
producing or repairing an article of personal
property, or for other specific prop erty-related
services covered by this section,
(2) the check or other written order was not paid,
and
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(3) the uttering of the check or other written order
constituted the means for inducing the person,
one possessed of a special lien created by
subsection A of this section upon the described
article of personal property, to deliver up the
article of personal property.
2. a. Any person who renders service to the owner of an
article of personal property by furnishing storage,
rental space, material, labor, or skill for the
protection, improvement, safekeepin g, towing, right to
occupy space, storage, or carriage thereof shall have
a special lien on such property pursuant to this
section if such property is removed from the person 's
possession, without such pers on's written consent or
without payment for such s ervice.
b. The person claiming such lien shall, within five (5)
days of such nonauthorized removal, file in the office
of the county clerk of the county in which the
property is located, a sworn statement i ncluding:
(1) that services were rendered on or in relation to
the article of personal property by the person
claiming such lien,
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(2) that the property was in the possession of the
person claiming the lien but such property was
removed without his or her w ritten consent,
(3) an identifying description of the article of
personal property on or in relation to which the
service was rendered, and
(4) that the debt for the services rendered on or in
relation to the article of personal property was
not paid. Provided, if the unpaid total amount
of the debt for services rendered on or in
relation to the article of personal property is
unknown, an approximated amount of the debt due
and owing shall be included in the sworn
statement but such approximated debt may b e
amended within thirty (30) days of such filing t o
reflect the actual amount of the debt due and
owing.
3. The enforcement of the lien shall be within sixty (60) days
after filing the lien in the manner provided by law for enforcing
the lien of a securit y agreement and provided that the lien shall
not affect the rights of innocent, intervening purchasers without
notice.
C. If the person who renders service to the owner of an article
of personal property to which this section applies relinquishes or
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loses possession of the article due to circumstances de scribed in
subparagraph a of paragraph 1 or subparagraph a of paragraph 2 of
subsection B of this section, the person claiming the lien shall be
entitled to possession of the article until the amount due is paid,
unless the article is possessed by a person who became a bona fide
purchaser. Entitlement to possession shall be in accordance with
the following:
1. The claimant may take possession of an article pursuant to
this subsection only if the person obl igated under the contract for
services has signed an acknowledgment of receipt of a notice that
the article may be subject to repossession. The notice and
acknowledgment pursuant to this subsection shall be:
a. in writing and separate from the written con tract for
services, or
b. printed on the written c ontract for services, credit
agreement or other document which displays the notice
in bold-faced, capitalized and underlined type, or is
separated from surrounding written material so as to
be conspicuous with a separate signature line;
2. The claimant may require the person obligated under the
contract for services to pay the costs of repossession as a
condition for reclaiming the article only to the extent of the
reasonable fair market value of the servic es required to take
possession of the article;
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3. The claimant shall not transfer to a third party or to a
person who performs repossession services, a check, money order, or
credit card transaction that is received as payment for services
with respect to an article and that is returned to the claimant
because of insufficient funds or no funds, because the person
writing the check, issuing the money order, or credit cardholder has
no account or because the check, money order, or credit card account
has been closed. A person violating this paragraph shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor; and
4. An article that is repossessed pursuant to this subsection
shall be promptly delivered to the location where the services were
performed. The article shall remain at th e services location at all
times until the article is lawfully returned to the record owner or
a lienholder or is disposed of pursuant to this section.
D. 1. This section applies if a vehicle, all -terrain vehicle,
manufactured home, motorcycle, boat, out board motor, or trailer has
a certificate of title issued by the Tax Commission or by a
federally recognized Indian tribe in Oklahoma, but there is no
active lien recorded on the certificate of title.
2. This section applies if a vehicle, all -terrain vehicle,
utility vehicle, motorcycle, boat, outboard m otor or trailer has a
certificate of title issued by the Tax Commission or by a federally
recognized Indian tribe in Oklahoma, and there is an active lien
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recorded on the certificate of title, but the lien is over fifteen
(15) years old.
3. This section applies if personal property to which Section
91 of this title otherwise would apply has been registered by the
Tax Commission or by a federally recognized Indian tribe in the
State of Oklahoma, and there is a lien of record but no certificate
of title has been issued.
4. This section applies if personal property to which Section
91 of this title otherwise would apply has not been registered by
either the Tax Commission or a federally recognized Indian tribe in
the State of Oklahoma, and no certificate of t itle has been issued,
but there is a lien of record.
5. This section applies to personal property that otherwise
would be covered by Section 91 of this title, except that the
services were rendered or the property was abandoned prior to
November 1, 2005.
6. This section applies to a vehicle, all -terrain vehicle,
utility vehicle, manufactured home, motorcycle, boat, outboard
motor, or trailer for which ownership cannot be determined by
ordinary means or by the Oklahoma Tax Commission Motor Vehicle
Division, as provided in subparagraphs d and e of paragraph 4 of
subsection A of this section, as applicable.
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7. This section applies to items of personal property that are
not required by Oklahoma law to be title d, and that do not have a
certificate of title.
8. This section applies to salvage pools as defined in Section
591.2 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
9. This section applies to class AA licensed wrecker services
taking possession of a vehicle pursua nt to an agreement with, or at
the direction of, or dispatched by a state or local law enforcement
or government agency, or pursuant to the abandoned vehicle removal
provisions of Section 954A of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes with
respect to all types of personal property, regardless of whether
that personal property has a certificate of title.
10. For a vehicle abandoned at a salvage pool, if the cost of
repairing the vehicle for safe operation on the highway does not
exceed sixty percent (60%) of the fair market value of the vehicle
as defined in Section 1111 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, a
salvage title shall not be required.
E. A person who knowingly makes a false statement of a material
fact regarding the furnishing of storage, rental spac e, material,
labor or skill for the protection, im provement, safekeeping, towing,
right to occupy space, storage or carriage thereof in a proceeding
under this section, or attempts to use or uses the provisions of
this section to foreclose an owner or lien holder's interest in a
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vehicle knowing that any of the statements made in the proceeding
are false, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a felony.
F. Upon receipt of notice of legal proceedings, the Tax
Commission shall cause the sale process to be put on hold until
notice of resolution of court proceedin gs is received from the
court. If such notice of commencement of court proceedings is not
filed with the Tax Commission, the possessory lien sale process may
continue.
G. No possessory lien sale shall be held on a Sunday.
H. For purposes of this section :
1. "Possession" includes actual possession and constructive
possession;
2. "Constructive possession " means possession by a person who,
although not in actual possession, does not have an intention to
abandon property, knowingly has both power and the i ntention at a
given time to exercise dominion or control over the property, and
who holds claim to such thing by virtue of some legal right;
3. "Lawfully in possession " means a person has documentation
from the owner or the owner 's authorized agent, or an insurance
company or its authorized agent, authorizing the furnishing of
material, labor or storage, or that the property was authorized to
be towed to a repair facility.
Class AA wrecker services taking p ossession of a vehicle
pursuant to an agreement wi th, or at the direction of, or dispatched
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by, a state or local law enforcement or government agency, or
pursuant to the abandoned vehicle removal provisions of Section 954A
of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statu tes, shall be considered lawfully
in possession of the vehicle. If the person lacks such
documentation, the procedures established by this section shall not
apply; and
4. "Itemized charges" means total parts, total labor, total
towing fees, total storage fees, total processing fees and totals of
any other fee groups, the sum total of which shall equal the
compensation claimed.
I. For purposes of this section, the United States Postal
Service approved electronic equivalent of proof of return receipt
requested Form 3811 shall satisfy return receipt reques ted
documentation requirements.
J. If a person claiming a special lien pursuant to this section
fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, any
interested party may proceed against the pe rson claiming such lien
for all damages arising th erefrom, including conversion, if the
article of personal property has been sold. If the notice or
notices required by this section shall be shown to be knowingly
false or fraudulent, the interested party shall be entitled to
treble damages. The prevaili ng party shall be entitled to all
costs, including reasonable attorney fees.
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K. Any interested party shall be permitted to visually inspect
and verify the services rendered by the claimant prior to the sal e
of the article of property during normal busines s hours. If the
claimant fails to allow any interested party to inspect the
property, the interested party shall mail a request for inspection
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the claimant.
Within three (3) business days of receipt of the request for
inspection, the claimant shall mail a photograph of the property, by
certified mail, return receipt requested, and a date of inspection
within five (5) business days from the date of the notice to
inspect. The lienholder shall be allowed to re trieve the property
without being required to bring the title into the lienholder 's
name, if the lienholder provides proof it is a lienholder and any
payment due the claimant for lawful charges where the cl aimant has
complied with this section. Upon the r elease of personal property
to an insurer or representative of the insurer, wrecker operators
shall be exempt from all liability and shall be held harmless for
any losses or claims of loss. In the event an y law enforcement
agency places a hold on the prop erty, the party wanting to inspect
or photograph the property shall obtain permission from the law
enforcement agency that placed the hold on the property before
inspecting or photographing.
L. This section shall apply to all actions or proceedings that
commence on or after the effective date of this act.
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023 .
59-1-5425 JL 11/30/22