341.800 Demand for payment -- Levy upon and sale of property of subject employer. (1) In addition to any other remedy provided by the laws of the Commonwealth, if any subject employer assessed or determined liable for the payment of contributions, including penalties and interest, refuses to pay contributions when due and has not sought administrative or judicial review of the assessment or determination as provided for in this chapter, or if such subject employer has exhausted or abandoned administrative or judicial review provided in this chapter so that the assessment or determination is final, due, and owing, then the secretary or his delegate may cause a demand to be made on the subject employer for the payment thereof. If the contributions, including interest and penalties, remain unpaid for ten (10) days after demand, then the secretary or his delegate may collect the contributions, including interest and penalties, and the costs of such collection by levy upon all nonexempt real and personal property, disposable earnings, and right to property belonging to the subject employer or on which there is a lien provided in this chapter for the payment of such contributions. (2) As soon as practicable after seizure of property, notice in writing shall be given by the secretary or his delegate to the owner of the property. The notice shall be given to the owner either in person or by certified mail to his last known address. Such notice shall specify the sum demanded and shall contain, in the case of personal property, an account of the property seized and, in the case of real property, a description with reasonable certainty of the property seized. (3) The secretary or his delegate shall, as soon as practicable after the seizure of the property, cause a notification of the sale of the seized property to be published in the newspaper with the largest circulation within the county wherein such seizure is made. Such notice shall be published once each week for three (3) successive weeks. In addition, such notice shall be posted at the courthouse and three (3) other public places in the county where the seizure is made for fifteen (15) days next preceding sale. The notice shall specify the property to be sold and the time, place, manner, and condition of the sale thereof. (4) If any property liable to levy is not divisible, so as to enable the secretary or his delegate by sale of a part thereof to raise the whole amount of the contributions, penalty, interest, and cost of the levy, the whole of such property shall be sold. (5) The time of sale shall not be less than thirty (30) nor more than ninety (90) days from the time the seizure is made. The place of sale shall be within the county in which the property is seized, except by special order of the secretary. (6) The sale shall not be conducted in any manner other than by public auction, or by public sale under sealed bids. In the case of the seizure of several items of property, the secretary or his delegate may offer such items for sale separately, in groups, or in the aggregate and accept whichever method produces the highest aggregate amount. (7) The secretary or his delegate shall determine whether payment in full shall be required at the time of acceptance of a bid, or whether a part of such payment may be deferred for such period, not to exceed one (1) month, as he may determine to be appropriate. If payment in full is required at the time of acceptance of a bid and is not then and there paid, the secretary or his delegate shall forthwith proceed to again sell the property as provided in subsection (6) of this section. If the conditions of the sale permit part of the payment to be deferred, and if such part is not paid within the prescribed period, suit may be instituted in the Franklin Circuit Court or the Circuit Court of the county where the sale was conducted against the purchaser for the purchase price or such part thereof as has not been paid, together with interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum from the date of the sale; or, in the discretion of the secretary, the sale may be declared to be null and void for failure to make full payment of the purchase price and the property may again be advertised and sold as provided in this section. In the event of such readvertisement and sale, any new purchaser shall receive such property or rights to property, free and clear of any claim or right of the former defaulting purchaser, of any nature whatsoever, and the amount paid upon the bid price by such defaulting purchaser shall be forfeited. If the secretary or his delegate determines that any property seized is liable to perish or become greatly reduced in price or value by keeping, or that such property cannot be kept without great expense, he shall appraise the value of such property and, if the owner of the property can be readily found, the secretary or his delegate shall give him notice of such determination of the appraised value of the property. The property shall be returned to the owner if, within such time as may be specified in the notice, the owner pays to the secretary or his delegate an amount equal to the appraised value or gives bond in such form, with such sureties, and in such amount as the secretary or his delegate determines to be appropriate in the circumstances. If the owner does not pay such amount or furnish such bond in accordance with this subsection, the secretary or his delegate shall as soon as practicable make public sale of the property without regard to the advertisement requirements or the time limitations contained in subsections (3) and (5) of this section. (8) (9) No proceedings under this section shall be commenced more than ten (10) years after the assessment or determination becomes final. (10) The term "levy" as used in KRS 341.800 to 341.830 includes the power of distraint and seizure. A levy shall extend only to property possessed and obligations existing at the time thereof. In any case in which the secretary or his delegate may levy upon property or rights thereto, he may seize and sell such property and rights to property, whether real, personal, tangible, or intangible. Effective: June 26, 2007 History: Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 62, sec. 4, effective June 26, 2007. -- Created 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 10, effective July 15, 1986.