770 ILCS 50/ Labor and Storage Lien (Small Amount) Act.

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770 ILCS 50/0.01

(770 ILCS 50/0.01) (from Ch. 82, par. 47.9)

Sec. 0.01.

Short title.

This Act may be cited as the

Labor and Storage Lien (Small Amount) Act.

(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

770 ILCS 50/1

(770 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 82, par. 47a)

Sec. 1.

Every person expending labor, services, skill or material
upon or furnishing storage for any chattel at the request of or with the
consent of its owner, authorized agent of the owner, or lawful possessor
thereof, in the amount of $2,000 or less, shall have a lien upon such
chattel beginning upon the date of commencement of such expenditure of
labor, services, skill, or materials or furnishing of storage, for the
contract price for all such expenditure of labor, services, skill, or
material, until the possession of such chattel is voluntarily relinquished
to such owner or authorized agent, or to one entitled to the possession thereof.

For the purposes of this Act, a person, other than a driver or a person
otherwise in control of a fire, police, emergency or public utility vehicle
on official business, consents to removal by towing of his or her vehicle
when he or she without authorization parks such vehicle upon private property
while having notice that unauthorized vehicles will be towed from such property
by the owner of such property, or agent thereof, at the vehicle owner's
expense, where such notice is provided pursuant to State law, local
ordinances or regulation by any state or local agency.  Such notice must
include a sign of at least 24 inches in height by 36 inches in width posted
in a conspicuous place in the affected area at least 4 feet from the ground
but not more than 8 feet from the ground. Such sign shall be either
illuminated or painted with reflective paint, or both and shall state the
amount of towing charges to which the person may be subjected.  However,
the requirement of the sign provided for in this section shall not apply to
residential property which, paying due regard to the circumstances and the
surrounding area, is clearly reserved or intended exclusively for the use
or occupation of residents or their vehicles.

The lien established herein shall also apply to labor, services, skills
or material upon or furnishing storage for towed vehicles performed by any
relocator or any other towing service pursuant to the order of a law
enforcement official or agency in accordance with Sections 4-201 through
4-214 of The Illinois Vehicle Code. The lien created herein shall be valid
even though the towing and storage is performed without the vehicle owner's consent.

(Source: P.A. 85-1283.)

770 ILCS 50/1.5

    (770 ILCS 50/1.5)
    Sec. 1.5. Storage fees; notice to lienholder of record.

(a) Any person, firm, or private corporation seeking to impose fees in connection with the furnishing of storage for a vehicle in the person's, firm's, or corporation's possession must provide written notice, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the lienholder of record prior to the assessment and accrual of such fees, regardless of whether it enforces a lien under this Act. The notice shall be effective upon mailing and include the rate at which fees will be incurred, and shall provide the lienholder with an opportunity to inspect the vehicle on the premises where the vehicle is stored within 2 business days of the lienholder's request. For impounded vehicles, the date on which the assessment and accrual of storage fees may commence is the date of the impoundment of the vehicle, subject to any applicable limitations set forth by a municipality authorizing the vehicle removal, if the notification required under this Section is sent to the lienholder of record within 2 business days. Payment of the storage fees by the lienholder may be made in cash or by cashier's check, certified check, debit card, credit card, or wire transfer, at the option of the lienholder taking possession of the vehicle. The person, firm, or private corporation seeking to impose storage fees shall furnish a copy of the certified mail receipt to the lienholder upon request.

(b) The notification requirements in subsection (a) of this Section apply in addition to any lienholder notice requirements under the Illinois Vehicle Code relating to the removal or towing of an abandoned, lost, stolen, or unclaimed vehicle. If a person, firm, or private corporation fails to comply with the notification requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this Section, storage fees shall not be assessed and collected and the lienholder shall be entitled to injunctive relief for possession of the vehicle without the payment of any storage fees.

(c) If the notification required under subsection (a) was not sent and a lienholder discovers its collateral is in the possession of a person, firm, or private corporation by means other than the notification required in subsection (a) of this Section, the lienholder is entitled to recover any storage fees paid to the person, firm, or private corporation to reclaim possession of its collateral.

(d) An action under this Section may be brought by the lienholder against the person, firm, or private corporation in the circuit court.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Act or the Illinois Vehicle Code, a person, firm, or private corporation seeking to impose storage fees for a vehicle in its possession may not foreclose or otherwise enforce its lien under this Act unless it first complies with the lienholder notification requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this Section.

(f)  If the vehicle that is incurring storage fees is registered in a state other than Illinois, the assessment and accrual of storage fees may commence on the date that the request for lienholder information is filed with the applicable administrative agency or office in that state by the person, firm, or private corporation seeking to impose fees, if the following conditions are met: (i) the person, firm, or private corporation furnishes the lienholder with a copy or proof of filing of the request for lienholder information; (ii) the person, firm, or private corporation provides to the lienholder of record the notification required by this Section within one business day after receiving the requested lienholder information; and (iii) the assessment of storage fees complies with any applicable limitations set forth by a municipality authorizing the vehicle removal.

(g)  This Section does not apply to a municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants that is seeking to impose storage fees for a vehicle in its possession.

(Source: P.A. 99-759, eff. 8-12-16; 100-311, eff. 11-23-17.)

770 ILCS 50/2

(770 ILCS 50/2) (from Ch. 82, par. 47b)

Sec. 2.

Unless the chattel is redeemed within 90 days of the completion of
the expenditure of such labor, services, skill, or material or furnishing
of storage, or within 90 days of the date agreed upon for redemption, the
lien may be enforced by a commercially reasonable public or private sale
conducted so as to maximize the net proceeds of said sale as hereinafter provided.

(Source: P.A. 85-1283.)

770 ILCS 50/3

(770 ILCS 50/3) (from Ch. 82, par. 47c)

Sec. 3.

Such sale shall be held only after giving 30 days' notice of
the time and place of such sale, by publication once in some newspaper
of general circulation in the city, village, or incorporated town in
which such lienor expended such labor, services, skill, or material or
furnished such storage, or if there be none, or if the labor, service,
skill or material was not expended in a city, village, or incorporated
town, then in some newspaper of general circulation in the county in
which such lienor expended such labor, service, skill, or material or
furnished such storage, and also by certified mailing, 30 days before such
sale, a copy of such notice addressed to the person requesting or
consenting to such expenditure of labor, services, skill, or material or
furnishing of storage, if his address is known, or if his address is
unknown, to the last known address of such person. If no address is known
or discoverable after reasonable inquiry, the sale may be made without
mailing such notice. The published notice required by this Section shall be
in substantially the following form:

--------------------------------------------------------------

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

That on (insert date), a sale will be held at (insert place), to sell
the following articles to enforce a lien existing under the laws of the
State of Illinois against such articles for labor, services, skill or
material expended upon a storage furnished for such articles at the
request of the following designated persons, unless such articles are
redeemed within thirty days of the publication of this notice.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Name of Person      Description of Article  Amount of lien
.................    .................     $.................
.................    .................     $.................

A separate notice need not be published for each lien to be enforced,
but several may be combined in one publication.

(Source: P.A. 87-206.)

770 ILCS 50/4

(770 ILCS 50/4) (from Ch. 82, par. 47d)

Sec. 4.

If the chattel or chattels are not redeemed within 30 days after
the publication of the notice required by Section 3 of this Act, the
lienor may sell such articles at a commercially reasonable public or
private sale conducted so as to maximize the net proceeds of said sale on
the day and at the place specified in such notice. The proceeds of the sale
in excess of the charges for the expenditure of such labor, services,
skill, or material or furnishing of storage, and the necessary expenses of
the procedure required by this Act, shall be held by the lienor for a
period of 6 months, and if not reclaimed by the owner thereof within that
time shall be deposited with the county treasurer of the county in which
such labor, services, skill or materials were expended or such storage was
furnished. The said treasurer shall credit such excess to the general
revenue fund of the county, subject to the right of the owner or his
representatives to reclaim the same at any time within 3 years of the date
of such deposit with the treasurer.

(Source: P.A. 85-1283.)

770 ILCS 50/5

(770 ILCS 50/5) (from Ch. 82, par. 47e)

Sec. 5.

Conformity to the requirements of this Act shall be a perpetual bar
to any action against such lienor by any person for the recovery of such
chattels or of the value thereof, or of any damages growing out of the
failure of such person to receive such chattels.

(Source: Laws 1941, vol. 1, p. 849.)

770 ILCS 50/6

(770 ILCS 50/6) (from Ch. 82, par. 47f)

Sec. 6.

The purpose and intent of this Act is to provide an
inexpensive means of enforcing liens for small amounts, and to that end
the provisions of this Act shall be construed to create a lien in
addition to, and shall not exclude, any lien which may exist by virtue
of either the common law or any other statute of the State of Illinois.

(Source: Laws 1941, vol. 1, p. 849.)