55-12-125 - Cancellation of bond or policy Return of deposit. - Tennessee Statutes

55-12-125. Cancellation of bond or policy Return of deposit.

(a)  The commissioner shall upon request consent to the immediate cancellation of any bond or certificate of insurance, or shall direct, and the state treasurer shall return to the person entitled thereto, any money deposited as proof of financial responsibility, or the commissioner shall waive the requirement of filing proof, in any of the following events:

     (1)  At any time after three (3) years from the date the proof was required when, during the three-year period preceding the request, the commissioner has not received record of a conviction that would require or permit the suspension or revocation of the license, registration or nonresident's operating privilege of the person by or for whom the proof was furnished;

     (2)  In the event of the death of the person on whose behalf the proof was filed or the permanent incapacity of the person to operate a motor vehicle; or

     (3)  If the license of a person who has given proof is surrendered to the commissioner of safety and the person's registration is surrendered to the commissioner of revenue.

(b)  The commissioner shall not consent to the cancellation of any bond or return of any money in the event any action for damages, upon a liability covered by the proof, is then pending or a judgment upon the liability is then unsatisfied, or in the event the person who has filed the bond or deposited the money has, within three (3) years preceding the request, been involved as the owner or operator in any motor vehicle accident resulting in injury or damage to the person or property of others. An affidavit of the applicant as to the nonexistence of these facts, or that the applicant has been released from all liability, or has been finally adjudicated not to be liable for such injury or damage, shall be sufficient evidence thereof in the absence of evidence to the contrary in the records of the commissioner.

(c)  If a person whose proof has been cancelled or returned under subdivision (a)(1) applies to the commissioner of safety for a license within a period of three (3) years from the date that proof was originally required, the commissioner of safety shall refuse the application and shall request that the commissioner of revenue refuse any registration application, unless the applicant reestablishes the proof for the remainder of the three-year period.

(d)  At any time after three (3) years from the date of revocation the department may, upon its own discretion or upon request of the person required to furnish proof of financial responsibility, release the requirement of this proof if the records of the department establish that the person, during the preceding three-year period, has not been convicted of any offense authorizing or requiring the suspension or revocation of a license by the department and has not suffered suspension, revocation, prohibition, or cancellation of license arising from a conviction of a violation of the law as ordered by the department or a court. This subsection (d), however, shall not apply in any case where there is an unsatisfied judgment based on a motor vehicle accident.

[Acts 1977, ch. 446, § 25; T.C.A., § 59-1275; Acts 2007, ch. 484, § 87.]