2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 32 — Motor vehicles and traffic regulation
RS 32:781 — Definitions

CHAPTER 4-C. LOUISIANA

USED MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSION

PART I. DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS

§781. Definitions

As used in this Chapter:

(1) "Broker" means any used motor vehicle dealer who, for a fee or commission, arranges or offers to arrange a transaction involving the sale, for purposes other than resale, of a used motor vehicle.

(2) "Commission" means the Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle Commission or its designee.

(3) "Dismantler and parts recycler" means a person, firm, or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the business of acquiring and dismantling, disassembling, or repairing wrecked, abandoned, or repairable motor vehicles or selling the usable parts thereof, or selling such wrecked, abandoned, or repairable motor vehicles as a unit of wholesale, or selling such repaired motor vehicles as a unit at wholesale. For purposes of this Chapter, a person, firm, or corporation shall be presumed to be engaging in the business of a dismantler and parts recycler if such person, firm, or corporation possesses ten or more inoperable motor vehicles for more than thirty days, except when such inoperable motor vehicles are being held:

(a) By a licensed tow truck owner or operator.

(b) By a scrap metal processor to recycle the scrap metal.

(c) By a bona fide repair business awaiting repairs.

(4) "Dismantler and parts recycler sales representative" shall include anyone who, for compensation of any kind, sells or brokers any used motor vehicle.

(5) "Motor vehicle" means any motor-driven car, van, or truck required to be registered, which is used or is designed to be used, for the transporting of passengers or goods for public, private, commercial, or for-hire purposes and includes used motor homes, used motorcycles, used all-terrain vehicles, used recreational trailers, used boat trailers, used ambulances, used buses, used fire trucks, used conversion vehicles, used wreckers, and used semitrailers.

(6) "Motor vehicle crusher" means any person, firm, limited liability corporation, or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the business of purchasing and crushing or compacting motor vehicles and selling the crushed or compacted vehicle for scrap.

(7) "Place of business" means the place owned or leased and regularly occupied by a person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity licensed under the provisions of this Chapter for the principal purpose of selling used motor vehicles, crushing, or compacting used motor vehicles and selling the crushed or compacted vehicle for scrap, or engaging in the business of a dismantler and parts recycler, where the products for sale are displayed and offered for sale, and where the books and records required for the conduct of the business are maintained and kept.

(7.1) "Public or retail motor vehicle auction" means the act of any person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity engaging in, for a commission, compensation, or other consideration, the business of providing vehicle auction services at an established place of business which is not open exclusively to motor vehicle dealers, dismantlers, and parts recyclers.

(8) "Salvage pool or salvage disposal sale" means a scheduled sale at auction or by private bid of wrecked or repairable motor vehicles by insurance companies, or by used motor vehicle dealers, or automotive dismantlers and parts recyclers licensed by the commission.

(9) "Scrap metal processor" means any person, firm, or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the business of obtaining scrap metal whose origin may have included abandoned, wrecked, or junked motor vehicles for scrap, shredding, or recycling as scrap metal.

(10) "Ultimate purchaser" means the first person or corporate entity, other than a dealer purchasing in his capacity as a dealer, who in good faith purchases a new motor vehicle for purposes other than resale. "Ultimate purchaser" shall not include a person who purchases a vehicle for purposes of altering or remanufacturing the motor vehicle for future resale.

(11) "Used fire truck" means any motorized vehicle, the legal title of which has been transferred by a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to an ultimate purchaser, utilized by a fire department in transporting firefighters or equipment to fires and emergency calls and supports extinguishing operations such as water, pumps, ladders, special service apparatus, hoses, foam, air, lights, rescue equipment, and utility equipment.

(12) "Used motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle, the legal title of which has been transferred by a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to an ultimate purchaser. For purposes of this Chapter a "used motor vehicle" includes used motor homes, used motorcycles, used all-terrain vehicles, used recreational trailers, used boat trailers, used ambulances, used buses, used fire trucks, used conversion vehicles, used wreckers, and used semitrailers.

(13)(a)(i) "Used motor vehicle dealer" means any person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity who, for a commission or with intent to make a profit or gain of money or other thing of value, buys, sells, brokers, exchanges, rents with option to purchase, auctions, offers, or attempts to negotiate a sale or exchange of an interest in used motor vehicles and who is engaged wholly or in part in the business of buying and selling used motor vehicles, whether such motor vehicles are owned by such person and whether the motor vehicles are sold from a dealership location or via any form of advertising, including but not limited to the Internet. A person shall be presumed to be engaged in the business of selling used motor vehicles if he sells five or more used motor vehicles in any twelve-month period which vehicles are not registered to and insured by members of the individual's household, immediate family members, or legal entities which the individual has an ownership interest in or is employed by. An entity shall be presumed to be engaged in the business of selling used motor vehicles if the entity sells five or more used motor vehicles which are not registered to and insured by the entity or by an entity affiliated with the entity receiving anything of value.

(ii) The term shall also include anyone not licensed under Chapter 6 of Title 32 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 who sells used cars and trucks, used motorcycles, used trailers, used semitrailers, used travel trailers, used buses, used fire trucks, used wreckers, used conversion vehicles, used recreational vehicles, used motor homes, used hearses, or used ambulances and who rents on a daily basis motor vehicles, not of the current year or immediate prior year models, that have been titled previously to an ultimate purchaser.

(b) "Used motor vehicle dealer" shall not include any of the following:

(i) Receivers, trustees, administrators, executors, guardians, or other persons appointed by or acting under the judgment or order of any court.

(ii) Public officers while performing their official duties.

(iii) Employees of persons enumerated in the definition of "used motor vehicle dealer" when engaged in the specific performance of their duties as such employees.

(iv) Mortgagees or secured parties as to sales of motor vehicles constituting collateral on a mortgage or security agreement.

(v) Insurance companies.

(vi) Auctioneers or auction houses who are not engaged in the auction of used motor vehicles as the principal part of their business, including but not limited to the following auctions: estate auctions, bankruptcy auctions, farm equipment auctions, or government auctions.

(14) "Used motor vehicle salesperson" shall include anyone who is actively engaged in the sale, offering for sale, or negotiations to sell a used motor vehicle or recreational product, including those engaged in finance and insurance, and who for compensation of any kind operates as a broker or is compensated for any referral of a prospective buyer to a dealer. "Compensation" for purposes of this Chapter means any thing of value including money, merchandise, rebates on purchases, trading stamps, or any other thing of value.

(15) "Used wrecker" means a truck, the legal title of which has been transferred, by a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to an ultimate purchaser, with a hoist and towing apparatus used in towing wrecked or disabled vehicles.

(16) "Water-damaged vehicle" means any motor vehicle whose power train, computer, or electrical system has been damaged by flooding.

(17) "Wholesale motor vehicle auction" means the act of any person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity engaging in, for a commission, compensation, or other consideration, the business of providing wholesale vehicle auction services at an established place of business which is open exclusively to licensed motor vehicle dealers, dismantlers, and parts recyclers.

Acts 2006, No. 440, §1; Acts 2007, No. 446, §1; Acts 2009, No. 403, §§1, 2, eff. July 7, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 987, §1.