44-12-204. Proof required or permitted at hearing. - Montana Statutes

     44-12-204. Proof required or permitted at hearing. In order to rebut the presumption of forfeiture:
     (1) an owner of property who has a verified answer on file shall prove that the property was not used for the purpose charged;
     (2) an owner of property listed in 44-12-102(1)(g) who has a verified answer on file may prove in the alternative that the use of the property occurred without the owner's knowledge or consent;
     (3) a claimant of a security interest in the property who has a verified answer on file shall prove that the claimant's security interest is bona fide and that it was created after a reasonable investigation of the moral responsibility, character, and reputation of the purchaser and without knowledge that the property was being or was to be used for the purpose charged. However, a person who has a lien dependent upon possession for compensation to which the person is legally entitled for making repairs or performing labor upon, furnishing supplies or materials for, or providing storage, repair, or safekeeping of any property and a person doing business under any law of this state or the United States relating to financial institutions, as defined in 32-6-103, loan companies, or licensed pawnbrokers or regularly engaged in the business of selling the property or of purchasing conditional sales contracts for the property may not be required to prove that the person's security interest was created after a reasonable investigation of the moral responsibility, character, and reputation of the owner, purchaser, or person in possession of the property when it was brought to the person.

     History: En. Sec. 8, Ch. 529, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 180, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1633, Ch. 56, L. 2009.