Redding Municipal Code Ch. 6.34 Closing-Out Sales

For the purpose of this chapter only, the following words and terms shall be deemed to mean and be construed as follows:

A. "Advertise," "advertisement," "advertising," "publish," "publication" 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 in this section, 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 display, billboard display, poster, radio and television announcement.

B. "Permit" means a permit issued pursuant to this chapter.

C. "Permittee" means any person to whom a permit has been issued pursuant to this chapter.

D. "Sale" means the following:

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 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 an "adjuster's sale," "adjustment sale," "assignee's sale," "bankrupt sale," "benefit of administrator's sale," "benefit of creditors' sale," "benefit of trustee's sale," "building coming down sale," "closing-out sale," "creditors' committee sale," "creditors' sale," "damaged goods sale," "end sale," "executors' sale," "final days sale," "fire sale," "forced-out sale," "forced out of business sale," "insolvent sale," "insurance salvage sale," "liquidation sale," "loss of lease sale," "mortgage sale," "outselling sale," "receiver's sale," "reorganization 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," "fixture for sale," or advertised by any other expression or characterization 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 notices or advertisement 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.

(Prior code § 1 1A-1)

No person shall publish or conduct any sale of the type defined in Section 6.34.010 without first obtaining a permit therefor from the city clerk in the manner provided in this chapter; provided, that auction sales shall be subject to and governed by provisions contained in Chapter 6.12.

(Prior code § 11A-2)

A. No permit to conduct a sale as defined in Section 6.34.010 shall be granted except upon written application to the city clerk, on forms furnished by the city clerk, which application shall set forth and contain the following information:

1. Street address at which sale is to be held;

2. 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;

3. A copy of all advertisements proposed to be used in connection with the sale, and a statement of the means or methods of advertising to be used in advertising the sale;

4. Type of sale, i.e. going out of business, insurance, bankruptcy, insolvency, assignment, mortgage foreclosure, administration, receivership, trusteeship, removal, executorship removal, or other cause advertised to be the reason for the proposed sale;

5. An inventory or statement setting forth the amount and description of goods, wares and merchandise to be sold at the sale; and, when required by the city clerk, the date of acquisition of the goods, wares or merchandise, and the persons from whom obtained and the last place from which the goods were last taken;

6. That the applicant has been in business at the location described in the application for at least six months prior to the date of filing of the application;

7. Such additional information as the city clerk may require.

B. The city clerk may require that all goods, wares and merchandise listed upon the inventory or statement shall be so described in detail by manufacturer's name and lot number, the individual number of articles so numbered, colors, sizes and otherwise, that the identity of the goods with the goods listed on the inventory can be readily determined.

C. Upon the filing of the application the city clerk may make or cause to be made an examination, audit or investigation of the applicant and his affairs in relation to the proposed sale.

D. If the city clerk finds that the statements in the application are true, that the inventory is complete, that the advertising set forth is not false, fraudulent, deceptive or misleading in any respect, and that the methods to be used by the applicant in conducting the sale are not such as in the opinion of the city clerk will work a fraud upon the purchasers, the city clerk may issue, at no cost to the applicant, a permit to conduct the sale in accordance with the provisions of this chapter; otherwise, the city clerk will deny the application and refuse a permit because of the insufficiency of the information set forth in the application, but in such event, the city clerk shall grant the applicant permission to file an amended application.

(Ord. 1473 § 1, 1980)

A. Each permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall have printed, written or stamped on the face thereof the following: "This permit is granted by the city clerk and accepted by the permittee upon the condition that such permittee comply with and abide by all provisions of such Code pertaining to the issuance of such permits," with a line thereunder for signature by the permittee and a witness.

B. At the time of the delivery of the permit, the statement must be signed by the permittee in the presence of an employee of the city who shall sign as witness.

(Prior code § 11A-4)

A. Any permit issued under the provisions of this chapter shall authorize the one type of sale named in the application, at the place named therein, for a period of not more than sixty calendar days, and shall permit the sale of goods only which are set out in the 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 city clerk may, upon a verified application therefor, renew the permit for a period of not to exceed thirty days, upon the payment of a renewal fee in the amount of twenty-five dollars. The 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 goods, wares or merchandise not named in the original application. Upon receipt of the application for renewal, the city clerk shall cause an investigation to be made at once, and if satisfied of the truth of the statements contained therein, the city clerk shall grant the renewal, which shall be endorsed and signed as provided for the original permit.

B. The city clerk may renew any original permit in the manner provided in subsection A not to exceed two times, upon the payment of the sum of twenty-five dollars for each such renewal; provided, however, that the city clerk may not issue permits or renewals which will allow the conduct of any sale or sales of any kind named in this chapter, at any one location for more than one hundred twenty calendar days in any one twelve-month period. The permit shall be nontransferable.

(Prior code § 11A-5)

A. The permit required by this chapter shall be valid only for the advertising, representation and sale of the particular goods, wares or merchandise described in the original application therefor, and at the particular time, and particular place stated therein, and by the particular applicant, and any renewal, replenishment or substitution of such goods, wares or merchandise, or change of such time or place for such sale, or change of person conducting the sale, shall be unlawful and shall render the permit void. No person in contemplation of conducting any such sale or special sale, or during the continuance of the sale, shall order any goods, wares or merchandise for the purpose of selling them at the sale, and any unusual purchase, or additions to the stock of such goods, wares or merchandise, within sixty days before the filing of the application for a license to conduct such a sale shall be presumptive evidence that the purchase or additions were made in contemplation of the sale and for the purpose of selling them at the sale.

B. Each sale of goods, wares or merchandise that were not inventoried and described in the original application shall constitute a separate offense under this chapter.

(Prior code § 11A-6)

Upon commencement and throughout the duration of any sale, as defined in this chapter, the permit required by this chapter shall be prominently displayed near the entrance to the premises. A duplicate original of the application and stock list pursuant to which the permit was issued shall at all times be available to the city clerk or to his inspector and investigators, and the permittee shall permit the inspector and investigators to examine all merchandise in the premises for comparison with the stock list.

(Prior code § 11A-7)

Any removal of any goods, wares or merchandise inventoried and described in the original application form for a permit under this chapter from the place of sale mentioned in the application shall cause the goods to lose their identity as the stock of any of the sales defined in this chapter, and no permits thereafter will be issued for the conducting of a sale of any such goods, wares or merchandise in such a manner as to identify them with the store, store name, store owner or location referred to in the original application.

(Prior code § 11A-8)

Suitable books and records shall be kept by the permittee and shall at all times be available to the inspector and investigators. At the close of business each day the stock list attached to the application shall be revised and those items disposed of during the day shall be so marked thereon.

(Prior code § 11A-9)

Except as otherwise indicated, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or affect the following persons:

A. Persons acting pursuant to an order or process of a court of competent jurisdiction;

B. Persons acting in accordance with their powers and duties as public officers, such as sheriffs and marshals;

C. Duly licensed auctioneers selling at auction;

D. Any publisher of a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or any radio or television station, who publishes any such advertisement in good faith, without knowledge of its false, deceptive or misleading character, or without knowledge that the provisions of this chapter have not been complied with;

E. Persons engaged in the business of buying and selling secondhand, distressed, bankrupt or liquidated stock or similar merchandise in bulk lots for purposes of resale and having a fixed place of business for such purposes in the city, except that such persons shall not be exempt from the provisions of this chapter for sales as defined in Section 6.34.010(D)(1, 2, 3).

(Prior code § 11A-10)

In addition to the penalty provided for in Sections 1.12.010 and 1.12.020 for violation of any of the provisions of this code, the permit issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked by the city clerk if he finds that the permittee has violated any portion of this chapter.

(Prior code § 11A-11)