(A) License requirements and exceptions.
(1) State license. It is unlawful for any person to advertise or act as an auctioneer, apprentice auctioneer or auction house, in order to sell real and personal property or any item of value including limited livestock, within the Commonwealth without a license issued by the Kentucky Board of Auctioneers. A real estate auction must be held by a licensed auctioneer who also is a licensed real estate broker or the real estate auctioneer shall conduct the real estate auction in collaboration with a real estate broker with both parties being separately paid for their services.
(2) City license. It is unlawful for any person to advertise or act as an auctioneer, apprentice auctioneer or auction house, in order to sell real and personal property or any item of value including limited livestock, within the Commonwealth without a license issued by the City of Hazard.
(3) Exceptions to the license requirements.
(a) Judicial or other sale by law or valid court order.
(b) Real property sale by the individual owner(s) of the real property.
(c) Livestock auctions performed by and on behalf of 4-H, FFA, or any university within Kentucky.
(d) Charitable organization, church, political party, association or corporation auction if; the person conducting the auction is not compensated for their services and does not advertise or otherwise represent themselves as an auctioneer, all items for sale at the auction are donated and not on consignment, and 100% of the proceeds of the auction is contributed to the charitable organization, church, political party, association or corporation sponsoring the auction.
(B) General merchandise auction sales.
(1) Tags on sale items; contents; statement of warranty.
(a) Any person conducting an auction shall attach to each article of merchandise exposed or offered for sale at the auction, a tag on which shall be written or printed in English, a true statement of the character and quality of the goods or article offered or exposed for sale. The tag shall be a warranty to the purchaser of the kind, character and quality of the merchandise being sold. The tag attached to the merchandise shall be signed by the auctioneer conducting the sale and shall be firmly attached to the merchandise and delivered to the purchaser when the purchaser takes possession of the merchandise. The auctioneer shall read aloud to the audience the information or statement contained on the tag immediately before offering the merchandise for sale.
(b) If any secondhand goods or articles are offered for sale at such an auction, that fact shall appear in the statement on the tag.
(c) The statement on the tag shall begin with the words: “The undersigned represents that the (describe or name the article) to which this statement is attached is (then shall follow in detail representations as to the quality, kind, and character of the merchandise, together with all facts relative thereto, in detail as above provided).”
(2) Bidding regulations.
(a) Any person conducting an auction sale, or who may hereafter be licensed to conduct such a sale by auction, shall not employ or use at the sale any “by-bidder”, “capper” or “booster”. No auctioneer shall, at such a sale, accept or pretend to accept any false, misleading, or fictitious bid for any article offered for sale, but every sale must be bona fide.
(b) The auctioneer at the sale shall recognize no bidder for any article exposed for sale, unless the bidder shall speak in tone audible to those present, the amount of his or her bid, or shall extend his or her arm above the heads of the crowd so as to be plainly seen and identified as the bidder by those present.
(c) The article sold shall be immediately and publicly delivered to the bidder and the amount of the bid then and there publicly paid for the article by the purchaser.
(d) When an article is offered for sale and a bid is received therefor as provided for herein, the article shall be sold for the bid offered, unless the auctioneer, at the time he offers the article for sale, shall publicly announce that he or she reserves the right to reject the bid received. Only when such a reservation is made shall the auctioneer have the right to reject the bid offered.
(4) City license and bond required. Before conducting an auction or public sale, the individual or business must produce a valid Kentucky auction license, make application for a city auction license, including the fee of $50, including applying for an occupational license, including the required fee, if applicable. In addition, the individual or business must execute a bond to the city in the sum of $500 conditioned on their fully complying with the provisions of this chapter and that the articles sold at the sale are the kind, quality, and character which are represented to be on the tag attached to the article sold. The bond shall be for the benefit of the purchasers of any articles sold at the auction which may prove not to be of the kind and quality represented. At the sole discretion of the City Manager, the bond, or any portion remaining, will be returned to the individual or business, within 30 days after payment of the last claim by aggrieved purchasers or 30 days after the end of the auction, whichever is sooner.
(Ord. passed 6-20-16) Penalty, see § 114.99