Effective 28 Aug 2001

367.506. Licensure of title lenders, penalty. — 1. Any person who acts as a title lender without a title loan license is subject to both civil and criminal penalties.

2. All title loan agreements entered into by a person who acts in violation of the licensing requirements of sections 367.500 to 367.533, and all title pledges accepted by such person, shall be null and void. Any borrower who enters into a title loan agreement with a person who acts in violation of the provisions of sections 367.500 to 367.533 shall not be bound by such agreement, and such borrower's only liability shall be for the return of the principal.

3. The attorney general may initiate a civil action against any person who acts as a title lender without a title loan license. Such action shall be commenced in the circuit court for any county in which the person executed any title loan agreement and any county in which any of the pledged titled personal property is normally kept. The civil penalty for title lending without a title loan license shall be not less than one thousand dollars and not more than five thousand dollars for each day that a person acts in violation of the licensing requirement. If the violation of the licensing requirement is intentional or knowing, the person shall be barred from applying for a title loan license for a period of five years from the date of the last violation.

4. A first offense violation of the licensing requirement pursuant to this section shall be a class C misdemeanor. Second and subsequent offenses shall be class A misdemeanors. For purposes of jurisdiction and venue, the crime of unlawful title lending shall be deemed to have occurred in both the county in which an unlawful title loan agreement was executed and the county in which the pledged property is normally kept.

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(L. 1998 H.B. 1526 § 3, A.L. 2001 H.B. 738 merged with S.B. 186)