Chapter 5.52 — AUCTIONS AND AUCTIONEERS

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

"Auction" and "auction sale" mean a sale of property by public outcry to the highest bidder.

"Auctioneer" includes and comprehends any person who shall, by public outcry, sell or offer to sell to the highest bidder, any property to be so sold through duly employed and permitted auctioneers.

"Fake sale" is any one of the following:

1. The sale of goods, wares or merchandise at auction or otherwise to agents or other persons purchasing the same for or on behalf of the owner or other person interested in the selling thereof;

2. The offering for sale of goods, wares or merchandise of a different quality, brand or bearing a different trademark as the merchandise previously advertised for sale.

3. The sale of any goods, wares or merchandise misrepresented as to quantity or quality or otherwise.

4. The sale or offering for sale of any goods, wares or merchandise transported or brought into the City, and not constituting the original legitimate stock of goods, wares and merchandise of a place of business within the City, as the original and legitimate stock of goods, wares and merchandise of such place of business, at a bankrupt, insurance, mortgage, insolvency, assignee's, receiver's, trustee's, creditor's, executor's or administrator's sale, or a forced removal sale, or closing-out sale, or the sale of goods damaged by fire, smoke, water or otherwise. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent, nor shall it be considered unlawful to sell the original stock of goods, wares and merchandise of any place of business at a bankrupt, insurance, mortgage, insolvency, assignee's, receiver's, trustee's, creditor's or administrator's forced removal or closing-out sale, but the bringing of new stock into any such place of business or the adding of new stock to such original stock of goods, wares and merchandise and selling or offering to sell, such new stock or added stock of such goods, wares and merchandise at the place of business at any of the sales above described, is hereby declared unlawful and to be a fake sale within the meaning thereof.

"Jewelry" is any article of personal adornment which is composed in whole or in part of gold, silver or platinum, or which contains any precious or semi-precious stone, or imitations thereof, and shall include wrist and pocket watches and clocks.

"Lot" means an article or group of articles offered for sale at an auction at one time. (Prior code §6.1)

It is unlawful for any person to ring any bell or sound any other loud or noisy instrument for the purpose of attracting attention to any auction sale. (Prior code §6.2)

Whenever an auction is conducted in a private residence, or in a retail establishment, it shall be unlawful to sell or offer for sale at the auction, any goods or articles not actually belonging to and used by the owner or lessee of the premises, if the place of auction is a private residence, or which do not form a part of the regular stock in trade of the merchant occupying the premises, if the place of auction is a retail establishment; provided, however, that other articles may be sold as such auction if in any advertisements used to publicize the auction, the statement is made that other articles than those belonging to and used by the owner of the premises, or other articles than those which form a part of the stock in trade of the merchant, will be sold. Such articles shall be clearly tagged or labeled in such a manner as to indicate to prospective purchasers that the articles do not belong to and were not used by the owner or lessee of the premises, or do not form a part of the stock in trade of the merchant; and at the time of offering any such article for auction the auctioneer shall announce to the audience that the article does not belong to and was not used by the owner or lessee of the premises, or does not form a part of the stock in trade of the merchant. (Prior code §6.3)

For a period of at least two days prior to the day of any auction sale, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., all articles to be auctioned off or offered at the sale shall be prominently displayed upon the premises and open to inspection by the public. Each lot to be offered upon the date of the sale shall be numbered for identification; and at the time the lot is offered upon the block, the lot number shall be announced by the auctioneer. Every article in each lot to be offered on the day of the auction sale shall be marked with a clearly legible identification tag, identifying the articles as to lot number, and as to number within the lot. No article shall be added or removed from any lot at any time after it has been placed upon display, nor shall any lot be consolidated with all or any part of any other lot, nor may any lot be substituted for another lot, unless the fact of such withdrawal, consolidation or substitution is clearly announced to all prospective purchasers at the time the lot is offered for sale. No lot may be withdrawn from sale after two bids have been made upon it, and the bids have been accepted by the auctioneer. (Prior code §6.4)

It is unlawful for any auctioneer or agent, employee or assistant, to offer or attempt to dispose of any property at any auction sale in blind packages; and all articles in any lot shall be prominently displayed while the lot is being auctioned off. (Prior code §6.5)

It is unlawful for any permittee, his or her agents, servants or employees, to make any statements which are false in any particular, or which have a tendency to mislead, or to make any misrepresentations whatsoever with reference to any article sold or offered for sale at public auction.

(Prior code §6.6)

It is unlawful during the course of the sale for the auctioneer or any agent, assistant or employee to display upon the auction block or in his or her hand any article which is not a part of the lot then being auctioned off; or to represent in any manner that an article not a part of the lot then being auctioned off is a part of the lot.

(Prior code §6.7)

It is unlawful for any person to make or offer, or cause to be made or offered, a false bid or any other than a bona fide bid at a public auction or to act, or to employ any person to act, as a bybidder or what is commonly known as a "capper," "shill" or "booster" at any auction, or falsely to pretend to buy any articles at an auction sale, or to cause any person to do so. (Prior code §6.8)

It is unlawful for any auctioneer or agent, employee or assistant, to substitute any article in lieu of the article offered to and purchased by the bidder, except with the bidder's knowledge and consent; or to attempt to induce the purchaser of any article to accept, in lieu of the article, any other articles.

(Prior code §6.9)

It is unlawful for any auctioneer or agent, employee or assistant thereof, to refuse, fail or neglect to deliver complete and immediate possession to the purchaser within 24 hours after the payment of the purchase price.

(Prior code §6.10)

It shall be the duty of the auctioneer to make out an invoice containing a full and correct description of the articles sold and the price, for any purchase in excess of two dollars, and to give the invoice to the purchaser when the purchase price is paid. Duplicate copies of the invoices will be kept by the auctioneer for a period of one month after the purchase date. (Prior code §6.11)

It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, or advertise for sale at public auction any jewelry, or any furs or garments composed in whole or part of furs; provided, however, that any person who has been engaged in the business of selling jewelry or furs at retail in the City for a period of at least a year may, upon obtaining a permit as provided in Sections 5.52.170—5.52.220, conduct an auction solely for the purpose of disposing of his or her stock on hand and going out of business. (Prior code §6.12)

An applicant desiring to obtain a permit for the purpose of holding an auction under Section 5.52.120 shall file, together with the application form set forth in Section 5.52.190, a sworn statement, attesting to the facts that he or she has conducted the business of selling jewelry or furs at retail for the period of at least a year in the City, that the purpose of the auction is to close out the applicant's stock in trade, and that the jewelry or furs to be sold form a bona fide part of the applicant's stock in trade. The statement shall be accompanied by an inventory of the goods to be auctioned off, itemizing in detail the quality and wholesale price of each item of goods, together with the original date of purchase of each item. It shall be a condition of the granting of a permit for the purpose of holding such a sale that the books and accounts of the merchant shall be made available to the Tax and Permit Inspector or his or her deputies upon demand and refusal to permit inspection of the books and records shall be grounds for refusal of the permit. (Prior code §6.13)

In the event of any closing-out sale of jewelry or furs, it shall be unlawful to sell any article, unless there is attached to each article a tag, card or label upon which shall be plainly written in the English language, in the case of jewelry, a true and correct statement of the kind and quality of the material of which the article is composed, whether the article is or is not plated, the true name and quality of any precious or semi-precious gems incorporated in the article, and whether the gems are natural or synthetic; and if the article be a watch or clock, the true name of the manufacturer thereof. If all or any portion of the movement or case of the watch or clock is used or secondhand, that fact shall be noted on the tag. If the articles being sold are furs or garments composed in whole or part of furs, the card or tag shall state the quality of the furs, together with the true name of the animal from which the fur was taken. Such card or tag shall be securely affixed to the article while the article is on display prior to the sale, and shall remain so affixed until the article is delivered into the hands of the purchaser, and shall be read to the audience when such article is offered for sale; and any inaccuracies in the information contained on the card or tag shall be deemed prima facie evidence of intent to defraud the purchaser of the article to which it is affixed.

(Prior code §6.14)

Nothing contained in this chapter shall apply to any sale made upon execution or by virtue of any process issued by a court, not to any sale made by any public officer in his or her official capacity required to be made under the laws of the United States or the State, or under the ordinances of the County, or any sale conducted under the provisions of the Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act; nor to any auction of livestock, nor any sale made under a nonstatutory assignment for the benefit of creditors generally, which sale shall be conducted by an auctioneer permitted pursuant to this chapter where the sale is limited to the stock in trade and fixtures on the premises in the City at the time of the assignment and where the sale is held on the premises. (Prior code §6.15)

The provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable to trustees in bankruptcy, executors, administrators, receivers or public officers acting under judicial order or process; provided, there shall, prior to their acting, first be filed with the Tax and Permit Inspector of the City, a statement under oath, stating the name of the court and proceeding in which the order or process under which they are acting was obtained and stating the date thereof. (Prior code §6.16)

It is unlawful for any person to hold him or herself out as an auctioneer, or to conduct or cause to be conducted an auction, unless such person shall have previously obtained a permit as provided in Section 5.52.190

(Prior code §6.17)

An auctioneer's permit shall be good for a period of one year from the date of its issue; provided, however, that it may be revoked at any time for violation of any of the terms of this chapter, or in the event that the permittee is convicted of a felony. (Prior code §6.18)

Application for an auctioneer's permit shall be made in writing upon forms provided therefor to the Tax and Permit Inspector of the City at least 30 days prior to the date of holding any auction. Each application shall be verified, and shall contain:

• A. The name, address and principal place of business of the applicant;

• B. The nature of the business and the length of time he or she has been engaged in it;

• C. The place at which the auction is to be held and the type of merchandise to be sold;

• D. Whether or not he or she has ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor other than traffic violations, and the nature of the felony or misdemeanor;

• E. The names and addresses of three character references living in the County of his or her residence.

(Prior code §6.19)

Each application for an auctioneer's permit must be accompanied by a bond in the principal amount of at least $2,500.00, the form of which shall be approved by the City Attorney, with one or more sureties thereon, to be approved by the City Attorney. The condition of each bond must be substantially such, that the principal named will faithfully conform to each and all of the ordinances of the City and each and all of the laws of the State, whether then in force or which may thereafter be adopted, relating to auctions or the business of auctioneers, and the prevention of fraudulent practices in general. The bond shall provide that the principal and surety named in the bond, and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns shall be jointly and severally bound unto the City and unto any and every person aggrieved or damaged by a breach of the condition of the bond, and the bond shall provide that the bond shall not be void upon the first recovery, but may be sued and recovered upon from time to time, by the City or any person aggrieved or damaged in his or her own name, until the whole penalty is exhausted; and the life of the obligation of such bond shall be made such that it will continue for such length of time as such permit remains in force and effect. (Prior code §6.20)

If, upon investigation of the applicant for an auctioneer's permit, it shall appear that the applicant is not a person of good moral character, or that he or she has knowingly falsified any statement in his or her application, the Tax and Permit Inspector shall refuse to approve the permit; and, in the event that the permit is refused, the applicant may appeal pursuant to the provisions of Section 1.30.050 of this code.

(Prior code §6.21; Ord. 5136, 1999)

At the time of application, the applicant for an auctioneer's permit shall pay the sum of $25.00. If the applicant has not for the period of six months immediately preceding his or her original application been a resident of the County, he or she shall pay in addition at the time of his or her original application, but not upon subsequent, renewal applications, the sum of $50.00, which sum shall be used to defray the cost of investigating the truth of the statements made in the application, and the references of the applicant. Renewal of any permit required by this chapter shall be promptly applied for at the expiration date thereof. Should application for a renewal permit be made more than 10 days following the expiration date of the permit, then a 50% penalty charge to defray the cost to follow up shall be required for the renewal, in addition to the permit cost.

(Prior code §6.22)