Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-56 Auction Sale. Permit Required

It is unlawful to conduct a sale of goods, wares, merchandise or personal property by or at auction within the City without first securing from the Finance Director a permit to conduct an auction sale.

(Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

Each application for a permit to conduct an auction sale within the City must be filed with the Finance Director at least ten days prior to the date of the proposed auction sale and shall contain or be accompanied by a sworn statement by the applicant showing the inventory on hand and the items of personal property to be offered, or which may be offered, at such auction sale. Such statement shall designate a number for each such item, and the cards or labels which are to be attached to said respective items as required in this Section shall contain the same respective numbers for such items as are indicated therefor upon such inventory.

(Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

The permit issued for the respective fees set forth in this Section shall authorize the conducting of the respective sales therein upon the days mentioned in the application; provided, however, that all sales made under such permit must be made within the period of thirty consecutive days including and following the first day of sale specified in the permit. If the sale is not completed within said thirty-day period, the permittee shall have the right to renew the said permit for an additional period of thirty days immediately following said first period upon payment of an additional fee which shall be equal to one-half of the original fee paid for such permit; but the Finance Director shall not issue any such permit for a longer period than a combined total of sixty days.

(Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

Any person commencing or conducting a sale of goods, wares, merchandise or personal property by or at auction within the City, shall furnish a surety bond in the principal sum of $5000 conditioned:

(1) Upon the observance by applicant of all the provisions of this Section relating to such auction sales;

(2) Upon the truth of all the representations made in connection with the application for such permit;

(3) Upon the truth of all the representations made in the course of any auction sale; and

(4) As a guarantee that the purchase price of any article purchased at such sale will be returned to any purchaser upon the proof that any false or misleading statement or representation has been made concerning any personal property sold or offered for sale at any such auction sale or in said auction place of business.

Every person conducting an auction sale in the City, including those persons exempted from paying a permit must file with the Finance Director a full, true and correct inventory of all items of personal property to be offered for sale at said sale. No addition of any property or of any item of property shall be made to the stock of personal property set forth in the said inventory before or during any auction sale licensed hereunder. At such sale any item or items listed upon such inventory or statement may be sold, but no items not listed therein shall be sold at such place.

(Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

The Finance Director and the Chief of Police, either personally or through their representatives, shall have the right to be present as official observers, representing the City, at any and all such auction sales, for the purpose of seeing that no personal property is sold thereat except such as is included in the inventory so filed; and such officers or their said representatives shall have the power to prevent the sale of any item or items not included in such inventory.

(Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

The permittee at any such auction, by offering any merchandise or personal property for sale thereat, shall thereby warrant that all representations made with reference to such merchandise or personal property in the course of such sale are true and correct.

It shall be unlawful for any person carrying on any auction sale to have any confederate or use any person as a false bidder.

Each item of personal property offered for sale at any such auction sale shall have a card or label attached thereto containing a true and correct statement specifying the kind and quality of such item, and such tag shall accompany and be delivered with each item sold at the time of delivery thereof to the purchaser.

It shall be unlawful to conduct or open any place of business for auction sale between the hours of 6:00 p.m. of any day and 8:00 a.m. of the following day, or to open or conduct any place of business for auction sale on Sundays or legal holidays, or to conduct or open any place of business for auction sales during the month of December of any year, provided, however, that the provisions of this Section prohibiting auction sales during the month of December shall not apply to the sale at auction, at its plant, of the machinery and appurtenances thereof, appliances, fixtures, equipment and related items normally used in connection with such enterprise, of a manufacturing company in business at such location continuously for a period of not less than one year, but not including manufactured items or parts thereof or raw materials used in connection therewith.

At all times during the conduct of the auction sale, a police officer shall be present, and before commencing selling each day, the permittee shall have deposited with the Finance Director a sum sufficient to pay the salary of a police officer during the period the sale is in progress.

Exception: Permanent auction houses may either utilize private security guard(s), in lieu of a police officer, as a specified condition of the auction permit, or have the requirement for security personnel at the auction house waived, if the Chief of Police can determine that the nature of items being auctioned will not warrant such security.

(Ord. 96-17 9-10-96; Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

The regulations governing incidental auction sales shall also govern the business of operating an auction house excepting the provisions relating to the filing of an inventory and to the hours and days of operation.

(Ord. 96-17 9-10-96)

The procedures governing revocation of permits generally pursuant to Article 3 of this Chapter shall govern proceedings of revocation of auction permits.