Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-57 Fire and Closing Out Sales. Permit Required

It shall be unlawful to publish or conduct any sale of the type herein defined without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Finance Director.

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

Unless the particular provision or the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this Section shall govern the construction, meaning, and application of the words and phrases defined, and their derivatives and derivatives therefrom wherever applicable, whenever used in this Section.

"Advertise, Advertisement, Advertising, Publish, Publication,"

shall mean any and all means, whether oral, written, lettered or printed, used for conveying to the public, notice of the conduct of a sale as defined herein, or notice of intention to conduct such sale, including, but not limited to, oral or written announcements by proclamation or outcry, newspaper advertisement, magazine advertisement, handbill, written or printed notice, printed display, billboard display, poster, and radio announcement.

"Sale"

shall mean:

(1)

Any sale of or any offer to sell to the public, or any group thereof, goods, wares or merchandise on order, in transit, or in stock, in connection with a declared purpose as set forth by advertising that such sale is anticipatory to or to avoid the termination, liquidation, revision, windup, discontinuance, removal, dissolution or abandonment of the business or that portion of the business conducted at any location; and

(2)

All sales advertised in any manner calculated to convey to the public the belief that upon the disposal of the goods to be placed on sale, the business or that portion thereof being conducted at any location will cease, be removed, be interrupted, discontinued or changed; and

(3)

All sales advertised to be "Adjuster's Sale," "Adjustment Sale," "Assignee's Sale," "Bankrupt Sale," "Benefit of Administrator's Sale," "Benefit of Creditors' Sale," "Benefit of Trustees' Sale," "Building Coming Down Sale," "Closing Sale," "Closing Out Sale," "Creditor's Sale," "Damaged Goods Sale," "End Sale," "Executors' Sale," "Final Days Sale," "Fire Sale," "Forced Out Sale," "Forced Out of Business Sale," "Forced to Move Sale," "Insolvent Sale," "Insurance Salvage Sale," "Last Days Sale," "Lease Expires Sale," "Lease Expiring Sale," "Liquidation Sale," "Loss of Lease Sale," "Mortgage Sale," "Outselling Sale," "Receiver's Sale," "Removal Sale," "Re-organization Sale," "Salvage Sale," "Selling Out Sale," "Smoke Sale," "Smoke and Water Sale," "Trustee's Sale," "Quitting Business Sale," "Wholesale Closing Out Sale," "We Quit Sale," "We Give Up Sale," "Fixtures for Sale," or advertised by any other expression or characterization closely similar to any of the foregoing and calculated to convey the same meaning; and

(4)

All sales advertised in a manner calculated to indicate that the goods, wares, or merchandise to be sold, or any part thereof, have been involved in any business failure or have been derived from a business which has failed, been closed, discontinued or liquidated; and

(5)

All sales accompanied by notice or advertising indicating that the premises are available for purchase or lease or are otherwise to be vacated; and

(6)

All sales accompanied by advertising indicating a business emergency or failure affecting the seller or any previous holder of the goods to be disposed of.

The following regulations shall govern applications:

(1) No permit to conduct a sale as defined herein shall be granted except upon written application to the Finance Director at least ten days before the sale is to commence, signed and verified before a person authorized to administer oaths, by the person who intends to conduct sale or, in the case of a corporation, by an officer and the manager of the store, and each application shall set forth and contain the following:

(a) Street address and type of building where such sale is to be held;

(b) The nature of the occupancy, whether by ownership, lease or sublease, and if by lease or sublease, the effective date of the termination of such tenancy and the name of the owner.

(c) A copy of all advertisements proposed to be used in connection with such sale, and a statement of the means or methods of advertising to be used in advertising such sale;

(d) The facts in regard to the insurance, bankruptcy, insolvency, assignment, mortgage foreclosure, administration, receivership, trusteeship, removal, executorship removal, or other cause advertised to be the reason for the proposed sale;

(e) An inventory or statement, in such form and in such detail as the Finance Director may require, setting forth the amount and description of goods, wares and merchandise to be sold at such sale, and, when required by the Finance Director, the date of acquisition of such goods, wares or merchandise, and the persons from whom obtained and the place from which said goods were last taken.

(f) If the sale implies that the business is closing, a statement that the applicant intends to close and remove from the premises and the time when he intends to do so.

(2) The Finance Director may require that all goods, wares and merchandise listed upon the inventory or statement shall be so described in detail that the identity of such goods with the goods listed on such inventory can be readily determined. The Finance Director may require that each item listed on the inventory have a label or tag securely attached thereto, on which there is written or printed a number corresponding with that item on the inventory.

(3) Upon the filing of the application, the Finance Director may make or cause to be made an examination, audit or investigation of the applicant and his affairs, in relation to the proposed sale.

(4) No permit shall be issued if any one or more of the following facts or circumstances are found to exist:

(a) That applicant was granted a permit for a "closeout" type of sale within two years preceding the date of the filing of this application.

(b) That the inventory included merchandise purchased by the applicant or added to his stock in contemplation of such sale and for the purpose of selling the same at such sale. For the purpose of this subparagraph, any unusual addition to the stock of such merchandise made within sixty days prior to the filing of such application shall be prima facie evidence that such addition was made in contemplation of such sale and for the purpose of selling the same at such sale.

(c) The acquisition by applicant of a bankrupt stock of goods or similar merchandise lot from another area within six months of application.

(d) That any representation made in the application is false.

(e) That the applicant has not operated as a retail merchant at that location for at least ninety days prior to date of sale.

(f) That the inventory is incomplete.

(g) That the advertising set forth is false, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading in any respect.

(h) That the methods to be used by the applicant in conducting the sale are such as, in the opinion of the Finance Director, will work a fraud upon the purchasers.

(i) The applicant or other persons connected with the sale are morally unfit or have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.

(5) The Finance Director may refuse a permit because of the insufficiency of the information set forth in the application, but in such event the Finance Director shall grant the applicant permission to file an amended application.

(6) No application, however, shall be denied unless an opportunity for a hearing has been given the applicant. Notice of the hearing shall be effected by personal delivery of the notice to the applicant or by depositing in the United States mail such notice, addressed to the applicant at his or her address given in the application.

(7) No application for any such permit shall be accepted by the Finance Director for filing unless accompanied by the permit fee prescribed and required by this Chapter.

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

The following regulations shall govern the issuance of permits:

(1) Each permit issued under the provisions of this Section shall have printed, written or stamped on the face thereof, the following:

"This permit is granted by the Finance Director and accepted by the permittee, its officers, agents, and employees, upon the condition that such permittee comply with and abide by all the provisions of the Inglewood Municipal Code,"

With a line thereunder for signature by the permittee and a witness.

At the time of the delivery of said permit such statement must be signed by the permittee, or an officer or manager, in the presence of the Finance Director or one of his or her deputies.

(2) Any permit issued shall authorize the type of sale named in the application, at the place named therein, for a period of not more than thirty calendar days, and shall only permit the sale of goods which are set out in said application, all of which goods throughout the duration of the sale must be definitely separated from any other goods displayed at, or within the store or place of business, and all advertising, signs or notices referring to, or calling attention to the sale, must be confined to the display, or displays, of goods involved in the sale.

Provided, however, that the Finance Director may, upon verified application renew said permit for a period not to exceed thirty days upon payment of a renewal fee as provided under the provisions of this Chapter, and provided further, that in cases where the necessity to terminate business operations has been caused by direct action of the City or any of its authorized agencies to acquire the property in which the business is located, and the final date of acquisition is uncertain, the Finance Director may, upon verified application, grant such additional renewals of thirty days each as in his discretion are reasonable under the circumstances. Such verified petition for renewal shall set forth a complete list of goods listed in the original application and remaining unsold, and shall not contain any merchandise not named in such original application. Upon receipt of such application for renewal, the Finance Director may cause an investigation to be made at once, and if satisfied of the truth of the statement therein contained, the Finance Director may grant such renewal which shall be endorsed and signed as provided for the original permit.

(3) The permit shall be valid only for the advertising, representation and sale of the particular personal property described in the original application, and at the time and place stated therein, and by the applicant, and any replenishment or substitution of such merchandise or change of time or place for such sale, or change of person conducting the sale, shall be unlawful and shall render such permit void. No person in contemplation of conducting any sale, or during the continuance of such a sale, shall order any goods, wares or merchandise for the purpose of selling them at such sale.

(4) Each sale of merchandise that was not inventoried and described in the original application shall constitute a separate offense under this Section.

(5) Removal of any merchandise inventoried and described in the application from the place of sale mentioned in such application shall cause such goods to lose their identity as the stock of any of the sales defined herein, and no permit thereafter will be issued for the conducting of a sale of any such merchandise in such manner as to identify them with the store, store name, store owner or location referred to in the original application.

(6) During the course of any type of closing out sale, no orders shall be taken for purchase of items not listed in the inventory submitted with the application.

(7) Suitable books and records shall be kept by the permittee and shall at all times be available to the inspector or investigator. At the close of business each day the stock list attached to the application shall be revised and the items disposed of during such day shall be indicated thereon.

(8) The Finance Director is empowered to make such rules and regulations for the conduct and advertisement of such sale or special sale as in his opinion will serve to prevent deception and to protect the public.

(9) Throughout the duration of any sale, the permit issued by the Finance Director shall be prominently displayed near the entrance to the premises. A duplicate original of the application and stock list pursuant to which such permit was issued shall at all times be available to said Finance Director, or to his or her inspector and investigators, and the permittee shall permit such inspector and investigators to examine all merchandise in the premises for comparison with such stock list.

(10) No sale of jewelry shall be conducted unless there is present at the location of the sale an inspector appointed by the Finance Director. The applicant shall pay the actual cost of keeping an inspector present at such sale. In addition to the filing fee, the applicant for a permit which includes the sale of jewelry shall deposit with the Finance Director, before the sale begins, a sum equal to the estimated cost of the inspector during the course of the sale.

(11) If the applicant operates similar businesses at more than one location, any sale, as defined herein, shall include only such goods, wares, and merchandise as are usually carried in stock at the location of the sale.

(Ord. 2252 3-16-76; Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

The following regulations shall govern the revocation of going out of business permits.

(1) The Permits and License Committee shall have the power to revoke any permit granted pursuant to this Section whenever any sale is being conducted in violation of any of the provisions of this Section or in such manner as to deceive or defraud the public, or if:

(a) The holder of any such permit has made any material misstatement in the application for such permit;

(b) The holder has been guilty of any fraudulent practice, or practices, in the conduct of the sale authorized by such permit;

(c) The holder has failed to include in the inventory required by the provisions of this Section, the merchandise required to be contained in such inventory;

(d) The holder has added, caused to be added, or permitted to be added any goods, wares or merchandise not described in the original inventory filed with the Finance Director before such sale is commenced; and provided further, that the court order or judgment expressly provides that the property be sold at public auction;

(e) The holder has violated any of the provisions of this Section or of the laws pertaining to advertising.

(2) No permit shall be revoked for any cause above enumerated until a written complaint has first been filed with the Finance Director setting forth the charge made against the permittee. Such complaint shall be verified by the declaration of the person making the charge. Service of such complaint and notice of hearing shall be done by depositing the same in the United States mail, addressed to the applicant at his or her address given in the application. Such notice and copy of the complaint shall be served or given to the permittee at least five days and not more than ten days prior to the date set for said hearing. At any such hearing the permittee shall be given an opportunity to be heard and defend himself or herself, and he or she may call witnesses in his behalf. After conducting such hearing, the Permits and License Committee may suspend or revoke the permit. If the violations which form the basis of such complaint continue after notification to the permittee, the Committee may suspend the permit until the hearing to consider the revocation of the permit. Such suspension shall be effective immediately upon giving notice thereof to the person in charge at the location of the sale. During such suspension, no person shall conduct any sale of the type herein defined.

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