One of the new trends in reality television is auction shows, including programs such as Auction Hunters and Storage Wars which depict storage facility lien sales. Wonder how those sales work? What rights as a renter or owner do you have? Read on!

 

A storage facility lien sale may occur when a renter of a storage facility fails to pay the owner rent. In addition to any rental agreement between the storage facility owner and renter, the California Self-Service Storage Facility Act, found in the California Business and Professions Code, regulates lien sales. If the proper procedures are followed, a lien sale may take place within two months of a missed payment. Once a storage unit is sold, a good faith purchaser has no obligation to the renter (previous owner) of the property within the unit. So it is unlikely that any personal property will be recovered and the only recourse will be to pursue to the storage facility owner for compensation.

 

The procedures a storage facility owner legally must follow are very specific. The owner cannot do anything until a payment is at least 14 consecutive days late. Then, a Preliminary Lien Notice must be sent, which should notify the renter that her right to use and enter the storage facility will cease on a specific date ("termination date"), which is no less than 14 days from the Preliminary Lien Notice.

 

After the termination date, the owner must send a Notice of Lien Sale indicating a date after which the storage facility will be sold or auctioned. This date must be no less than 14 days after the Notice of Lien Sale. To avoid a lien sale at this stage, a renter may pay the lien amount, or send a declaration in opposition to the lien sale to the owner via certified mail. This declaration must meet specific requirements and may lead to a court case.

 

Once the date provided in the Notice of Lien Sale has passed, the owner must still place an advertisement in a publication one time per week for two consecutive weeks with information about the anticipated lien sale. A renter may still choose to pay off the lien even during the publication period, but this may not result in an immediate return of the property. It is likely that a court would get involved to determine the distribution of property.

 

Late fees may be charged and added to a lien, but they must be "reasonable." This means that there is a 10 day grace period after the due date for a payment during which no late fees may be incurred. Thereafter, there may only be one late fee assessed per late payment. The late fee may not exceed $10 for a rental price of $60/month or less or $15 for a rental price of $61-$99/month. For rental agreements of $100 or more per month, the owner may charge $20 or 15% of the rental price, whichever is more.

 

If a lien sale goes forward, a renter still may have rights to money, even if an owner fully complied with the terms of the legal requirements for lien sales. After a sale, the owner of the storage facility may maintain the proceeds equal to the lien amount and costs of the sale. Any proceeds in excess of that must be retained by the owner for one year post sale and may be claimed by the renter. If they are not claimed, the owner may NOT keep them but must give them to the county.

  

Personally identifiable information (PII), has been defined broadly in a number of contexts to consist of information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, such as their name, social security number, telephone number, or address. While each state adds its own twist to this definition, any type of information that can be used alone, or combined with other information, to identify another person can be considered PII.

  

Most people freely give some form of PII on a daily basis when engaging in normal transactions. To protect its citizens, the States and Federal governments have imposed a number of restrictions on how this information can be collected, and more importantly in some cases, how it can be recorded.

  

Federal and State legislation concerning websites over the past ten years have imposed a number of restrictions and requirements on websites that collect PII. In most cases, a website operator in this State must conspicuously display a link to a Privacy Policy, which informs a visitor of what information is collected as well as how that information will be used, and how long it will be stored. From a practical standpoint, many website owners who are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of their sites, may be unaware of what type of information is being collected. While some forms of collection, such as email signups and registration forms are obvious, running script on a website to track visitors, or even third party ads that place code snippets or "cookies" on a user's computer, may trigger PII regulation.

  

California's Song-Beverly Act, which applies to brick and mortar shops that process credit cards, prohibits the collection of PII in excess of that information which is already on the card. The Supreme Court of California recently issued a decision in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc. holding that even asking a customer for their zip code, and recording that information, constituted a violation of the Song-Beverly Act. The defendant argued that the legislature had not intended a mere zip code to constitute PII and that the use of a zip code alone was not enough to identify one specific individual. The Supreme Court rejected these arguments and stated that it was not a requirement of the Song-Beverly Act that the PII given and recorded be capable of identifying only the individual in question but that the individual would be one of a group identified was sufficient. The court noted that according to the defendant's argument, a merchant could request a cardholder's zip code, state, city, and street so long as the street number was not given, rendering the protections in the Act almost completely useless. Taking the argument even further, if multiple people resided at one address would even the street address be considered PII?

  

The case law surrounding the Song-Beverly Act, and other pieces of legislation concerning personally identifiable information are clear that a business owner should be cautious when recording information from its customers and website visitors. A well-drafted privacy policy, or employee operating manual, can go a long way to prevent unnecessary violations of PII regulations. 

Sincerely,
WLF Lawyers
www.WLFLawyers.com

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