Fresno Municipal Code Art. 13 Liquidation Sales

(a) No person in the City of Fresno shall advertise, notice or hold out by advertising in newspapers, magazines, periodicals or otherwise, or by window-signs, billboards, radio or in any other manner whatsoever that any sale of goods, wares or merchandise is an insurance, bankrupt, sellout, bankruptcy, bankrupt stock, mortgage, mortgagee's, insolvent, assignee's, executor's, administrator's, receiver's, trustee's, pledgee's, lease-expiring, removal, retiring, quitting, liquidating, liquidizing, closing-out sale or other designation, or a sale of goods, wares or merchandise damaged by fire, smoke or water, whether the sale is so designated or is held under a similar name or other designation in the City of Fresno, unless and until he shall have first obtained a special license to conduct such sale from the Controller of the City of Fresno as herein provided.

(b) The provisions of this section shall apply to all such sales whether conducted by the owner, his agent, a consignee or otherwise.

(c) The provisions of this section pertaining to the sale of undamaged goods, wares or merchandise shall apply only to sales held in conjunction with the closing, quitting, relocation or removal of a business enterprise or a department or segment thereof, and not to a sale of discontinued or outdated stock in trade by an ongoing business entity. (Ord. [Orig.] Ord. 4298; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958; Am. Ord. 78-187, § 1, eff. 1-12-79).

At least ten days prior to the commencement of any sale set forth in Section 9-1401, the person intending to hold said sale shall submit to the Controller an application in writing stating the reasons for such sale, an inventory of all goods, wares or merchandise on all the premises where said sale is to take place, showing actual purchase price and any other details required by the Controller as necessary to fully identify the goods, wares or merchandise to be sold at said sale. (Orig. Ord. 4298; Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

(a) The license fee for sales covered by this article shall be as designated in the Master Fee Resolution. Said license shall be in addition to any other license fee then being paid by said person to the city. For the purpose of ascertaining the special license fee required for such sale, the inventory shall be computed from the total cost (purchase price) of such goods, wares or merchandise, or sixty per cent of the advertised value of such goods, wares or merchandise, whichever is the larger amount. No additional goods, wares or merchandise may be brought in or added to the submitted inventory to be offered to the public at such sale.

(b) Such application shall specify the period of time during which the sale shall continue. This time shall in no case exceed thirty days. A new application and special license shall be procured for each thirty day sale period or portion thereof.

(c) Exemption for Redevelopment. The license fee for sales covered by this article shall not be imposed upon a seller who is located within a redevelopment project area and whose sale is necessitated because redevelopment projects, plans or procedures require that the seller's business be relocated. This exemption shall not apply for a sale or sales of more than a total of ninety days. All other provisions of this article shall apply. (Orig. Ord. 4298, Am. Ord. 6538, 1964; Am. Ord. 80-115, § 82, eff. 8-8-80).

The Controller shall file such applications and shall endorse on each application the date the special license is granted, which said application shall be open to inspection only by the employees of the office of the Controller and the Police Department. (Orig. Ord. 4298, Am. Ord. 5308, 1964).

No person shall make any false statement in any application required by this article or in any advertisement or notice of any sales of goods, wares or merchandise covered by Section 6-1401. (Orig. Ord. 4298).

The licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall be valid only for the inventoried goods, wares or merchandise as provided in Section 9-1302 and 9-1303. Additions to such inventory shall cause the goods, wares and merchandise so inventoried to lose their identity, and any such license issued shall cease to apply to the sale of such goods, wares or merchandise. (Orig. Ord. 4298).

If there shall be any change in ownership of the goods, wares or merchandise so inventoried, advertised or noticed for sale, notice thereof shall immediately be given in writing to the Controller, and a new license obtained, as provided in Sections 6-1402, 6-1403 and 6-1404. (Orig. Ord. 4298, Am. Ord. 5308, 1958).

A sale shall only be advertised or carried on as an insurance sale by the insurance carrier, a bankruptcy sale by a trustee in bankruptcy, a mortgage sale by a mortgagee, an insolvent sale by a trustee in insolvency, an assignee's sale by an assignee for creditors, an executor's sale by an executor, an administrator's sale by an administrator, a receiver's sale by a receiver and a trustee's sale by a trustee; provided, however, that one purchasing directly from an insurance carrier, trustee in bankruptcy, mortgagee, trustee in insolvency, assignee for creditors, executor, administrator, receiver or trustee, may advertise notice and represent that he has so purchased such goods, wares and merchandise. (Orig. Ord. 4298).

Nothing contained in this article shall prevent a merchant from selling his regular stock in trade at any sale mentioned in Section 9-1401, the inventory of which would not cover his regular stock in trade, provided that such regular stock in trade is segregated separately and designated as such by appropriate signs clearly visible to prospective customers and so advertised. The lettering for such advertisement shall be not less than two inches in height. (Orig. Ord. 4298).

A sale of goods, wares or merchandise shall not be advertised, noticed, represented or conducted as a fire sale unless all of such goods, wares or merchandise to be sold shall have been actually damaged by fire or smoke or water used in extinguishing a fire. (Orig. Ord. 4298).

This article shall not apply to public or court officers or to any person acting under the direction of state or federal courts in the course of their official duties, or to licensed pawnbrokers selling unredeemed pledges in accordance with law. (Orig. Ord. 4298).