LAPA's PROPOSED REFORM
OF THE LOUISIANA AUCTION INDUSTRY
1. Abolish the Louisiana
Auctioneer's Licensing Board (LALB). It is a useless agency which
provides almost NOTHING in the way of
consumer protection, has no power whatsoever to make a victimized consumer
"whole," and actually AIDES & ABETS the
victimization of auction clients, both consignors and bidders, by “big-time”
auctioneers while aggressively pursuing trivial violations by the smallest of Louisiana
auctioneers.
2. Take the LALB checking account
funds, which approximate $400,000, and transfer that balance to an Auctioneer
Special Trust Fund (ASTF) with the Louisiana State Treasurer. The ASTF would compensate auction victims
after a Judgment is rendered in court and the
auctioneer fails to satisfy the Judgment within 30 days of the Judgment's
signing. It should come as
no surprise that many auctioneers in Louisiana are flat
broke, and the required bond (which is VERY difficult to collect upon) is a
MEASLY $10,000.
3. Present auction license fee
becomes a “registration fee” which adds to the ASTF, which would gradually grow to cover, at least
partially, even the most egregious auction losses. Presently, there’s
essentially no financial recovery. If the ASTF dips too low, auction registrants are simply
charged with a special
assessment over several years to replenish the ASTF to an adequate level.
4. Registration (#1 above) should
entail auctioneers providing proof of a MINIMUM of $100,000 of E
& O insurance as a FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE to compensate victims.
5.
If a payment is made
from the ASTF, the auctioneer responsible for such
payment shall be barred from the auction industry in Louisiana
FOR LIFE.
Recall from # 2 above that payment is made from the ASTF
ONLY if the
auctioneer is unable to satisfy a court Judgment rendered against him or her
within 30 days of the judgment's issuance.
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