§ 8-6-414 - Notification to motor vehicle owner and lienholders -- Reclamation. - Arkansas Statutes

8-6-414. Notification to motor vehicle owner and lienholders -- Reclamation.

(a) (1) The enforcement agency which takes into custody and possession any junk motor vehicle, within thirty (30) days after taking custody and possession thereof, shall notify the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle and all lienholders of record that the motor vehicle has been taken into custody and possession.

(2) The notification shall be by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.

(3) The notice shall:

(A) Contain a description of the motor vehicle, including the year, make, model, manufacturer's serial or identification number, or any other number which may have been assigned to the motor vehicle by the Office of Motor Vehicle and shall note any distinguishing marks;

(B) Set forth the location of the facility where the motor vehicle is being held and the location where the motor vehicle was taken into custody and possession; and

(C) Inform the owner and any lienholders of record of their right to reclaim the motor vehicle within ten (10) days after the date notice was received by the owner or lienholders upon payment of all towing, preservation, and storage charges resulting from taking and placing the motor vehicle into custody and possession and state that the failure of the owner or lienholders of record to exercise their right to reclaim the motor vehicle within the ten-day period shall be deemed a waiver by the owner and all lienholders of record of all right, title, and interest in the motor vehicle and of their consent to the sale or disposal of the junk motor vehicle at a public auction or to a salvage yard or demolisher.

(b) (1) If the identity of the last registered owner of the junk motor vehicle cannot be determined, if the certificate of registration or certificate of title contains no address for the owner, or if it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and addresses of all lienholders, then notice shall be published in a newspaper of countywide circulation in the county wherein the motor vehicle was located at the time the enforcement agency took custody and possession of the vehicle.

(2) This notice shall be sufficient to meet all requirements of notice pursuant to this section.

(3) Any notice by publication may contain multiple listings of junk motor vehicles.

(4) The notice shall be published within thirty (30) days after the motor vehicle is taken into custody and possession.

(5) The notice shall have the same contents required for a notice pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, except that the ten-day period shall run from the date such notice is published as prescribed.

(c) The consequences and effect of failure to reclaim a junk motor vehicle within the ten-day period after notice is received by registered or certified mail or within ten (10) days after the notice is published in a newspaper as prescribed shall be set forth in the notice.