House Bill hb1669

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1669

        By the Committee on Judicial Oversight and Representative
    Crow





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Uniform Commercial Code;

  3         amending ss. 679.1021, 679.1081, 679.210,

  4         679.510, 679.513, 679.516, 676.519, 679.527,

  5         and 679.625, F.S.; revising provisions of the

  6         Uniform Commercial Code as amended to clarify

  7         and conform; amending ss. 679.3011, 679.3171,

  8         679.334, and 679.5011, F.S.; clarifying the

  9         application of laws of this state to security

10         interests in goods as fixtures; revising

11         operation of provisions specifying priority of

12         such security interests; providing an effective

13         date.

14  

15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

16  

17         Section 1.  Paragraph (nn) of subsection (1) of section

18  679.1021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

19         679.1021  Definitions and index of definitions.--

20         (1)  In this chapter, the term:

21         (nn)  "Fixture filing" means the filing of a financing

22  statement covering goods that are or are to become fixtures

23  and satisfying s. 679.5021 679.502(1) and (2).  The term

24  includes the filing of a financing statement covering goods of

25  a transmitting utility which are or are to become fixtures.

26         Section 2.  Subsection (5) of section 679.1081, Florida

27  Statutes, is amended to read:

28         679.1081  Sufficiency of description.--

29         (5)  A description only by type of collateral defined

30  in this chapter the Uniform Commercial Code is an insufficient

31  description of:

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  1         (a)  A commercial tort claim; or

  2         (b)  In a consumer transaction, consumer goods, a

  3  security entitlement, a securities account, or a commodity

  4  account.

  5         Section 3.  Subsection (6) of section 679.210, Florida

  6  Statutes, is amended to read:

  7         679.210  Request for accounting; request regarding list

  8  of collateral or statement of account.--

  9         (6)  A debtor is entitled under this section without

10  charge to one response to a request for an accounting or a

11  request regarding a statement of account for each secured

12  obligation during any 6-month period. A debtor in a consumer

13  transaction is entitled to a single response to a request

14  regarding a list of collateral, for a transaction other than a

15  consumer transaction, without charge during any 6-month

16  period. The secured party may require payment of a charge not

17  exceeding $25 for each additional response to a request for an

18  accounting, a request regarding a statement of account, or a

19  request regarding a list of collateral for a consumer

20  transaction.  To the extent provided in an authenticated

21  record, the secured party may require the payment of

22  reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, reasonably

23  incurred in providing a response to a request regarding a list

24  of collateral for a transaction other than a consumer

25  transaction under this section; otherwise, the secured party

26  may not charge more than $25 for each request regarding a list

27  of collateral.  Excluding a request related to a proposed

28  satisfaction of the secured obligation, a secured party is not

29  required to respond to more than 12 of each of the permitted

30  requests in any 12-month period.

31  

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  1         Section 4.  Subsection (3) of section 679.3011, Florida

  2  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) is added to said

  3  section, to read:

  4         679.3011  Law governing perfection and priority of

  5  security interests.--Except as otherwise provided in ss.

  6  679.1091, 679.3031, 679.3041, 679.3051, and 679.3061, the

  7  following rules determine the law governing perfection, the

  8  effect of perfection or nonperfection, and the priority of a

  9  security interest in collateral:

10         (3)  Except as otherwise provided in subsections

11  subsection (4) and (5), while negotiable documents, goods,

12  instruments, money, or tangible chattel paper is located in a

13  jurisdiction, the local law of that jurisdiction governs:

14         (a)  Perfection of a security interest in the goods by

15  filing a fixture filing;

16         (b)  Perfection of a security interest in timber to be

17  cut; and

18         (c)  The effect of perfection or nonperfection and the

19  priority of a nonpossessory security interest in the

20  collateral.

21         (5)  The law of this state governs:

22         (a)  The perfection of a security interest in goods

23  that are or are to become fixtures in this state by the filing

24  of a fixture filing.

25         (b)  The effect of perfection or nonperfection and the

26  priority of a security interest in goods that are or are to

27  become fixtures in this state.

28         Section 5.  Subsection (6) is added to section

29  679.3171, Florida Statutes, to read:

30         679.3171  Interests that take priority over or take

31  free of security interest or agricultural lien.--

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  1         (6)  An encumbrancer or owner, other than the debtor or

  2  a lien creditor, who acquires an interest in the related real

  3  property takes free of a security interest in goods that are

  4  or become fixtures in this state, which interest is perfected

  5  only with a financing statement that is not filed as a fixture

  6  filing, even if the encumbrancer or owner knows of the

  7  existence of such statement.  For purposes of s. 695.01, the

  8  filing of a financing statement covering goods that are or

  9  become fixtures in this state, which statement is not filed as

10  a fixture filing, shall not constitute constructive notice of

11  such security interest to any person, other than a lien

12  creditor, who acquires an interest in the related real

13  property.

14         Section 6.  Subsection (4) of section 679.334, Florida

15  Statutes, is amended to read:

16         679.334  Priority of security interests in fixtures and

17  crops.--

18         (4)  A security interest in goods which are or become

19  fixtures perfected with a financing statement that is filed as

20  a fixture filing takes priority as to the goods over the

21  conflicting interest claims of an encumbrancer or owner of the

22  related all persons acquiring an interest in the real property

23  arising subsequent to the perfection of such security interest

24  or the affixing of the goods to the real property, whichever

25  occurs later. A security interest in goods which are or become

26  fixtures perfected only with a financing statement that is not

27  filed as a fixture filing is subject to the rights of an

28  encumbrancer or owner of the related real property under s.

29  679.3171(6) and to the rights of a lien creditor under s.

30  679.3171(1)(b), but takes priority as to the goods over the

31  

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  1  rights of a lien creditor who does not meet the requirements

  2  of s. 679.3171(1)(b).

  3         Section 7.  Section 679.5011, Florida Statutes, is

  4  amended to read:

  5         679.5011  Filing office.--

  6         (1)  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2),

  7  the office in which to file a financing statement to perfect a

  8  security interest or agricultural lien is:

  9         (a)  The office of the clerk of the circuit court, if:

10         1.  The collateral is as-extracted collateral or timber

11  to be cut; or

12         2.  The collateral is goods that are or are to become

13  fixtures and in this state, in which event the financing

14  statement is shall be filed as a fixture filing.

15         (b)  The Florida Secured Transaction Registry, in

16  accordance with ss. 679.3011-679.3071, and in all other cases,

17  including cases in which the collateral is goods that are or

18  are to become fixtures and the financing statement is not

19  filed as a fixture filing.

20         (2)  The office in which to file a financing statement

21  to perfect a security interest in collateral, including

22  fixtures, of a transmitting utility is the Office of the

23  Secretary of State, or the filing office authorized by s.

24  679.527 697.527 to accept filings for the Florida Secured

25  Transaction Registry.  The financing statement also

26  constitutes a fixture filing as to the collateral indicated in

27  the financing statement which is or is to become fixtures.

28         Section 8.  Section 679.510, Florida Statutes, is

29  amended to read:

30         679.510  Effectiveness of filed record.--

31  

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  1         (1)  Subject to subsection (3), A filed record is

  2  effective only to the extent that it was filed by a person who

  3  may file it under s. 679.509.

  4         (2)  A record authorized by one secured party of record

  5  does not affect the financing statement with respect to

  6  another secured party of record.

  7         (3)  If a person may file a termination statement only

  8  under s. 679.509(3)(b), the filed termination statement is

  9  effective only if the debtor authorizes the filing and the

10  termination statement indicates that the debtor authorized it

11  to be filed.

12         (3)(4)  A continuation statement that is not filed

13  within the 6-month period prescribed by s. 679.515(4) is

14  ineffective.

15         Section 9.  Subsection (4) of section 679.513, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         679.513  Termination statement.--

18         (4)  Except as otherwise provided in s. 679.510, Upon

19  the filing of a termination statement with the filing office,

20  the financing statement to which the termination statement

21  relates ceases to be effective. Except as otherwise provided

22  in s. 679.510, For purposes of ss. 679.519(7) and 679.522(1),

23  the filing with the filing office of a termination statement

24  relating to a financing statement that indicates that the

25  debtor is a transmitting utility also causes the effectiveness

26  of the financing statement to lapse.

27         Section 10.  Subsection (1) and paragraphs (d), (e),

28  (g), (h), and (i) of subsection (2) of section 679.516,

29  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

30         679.516  What constitutes filing; effectiveness of

31  filing.--

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  1         (1)  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2),

  2  communication of a record to a filing office and, tender of

  3  the processing fee, or acceptance of the record by the filing

  4  office constitutes filing.

  5         (2)  Filing does not occur with respect to a record

  6  that a filing office refuses to accept because:

  7         (d)  The filing office is unable to index the record

  8  because:

  9         1.  In the case of an initial financing statement, the

10  record does not provide an organization's name or, if an

11  individual, the individual's last name and first name or

12  initial;

13         2.  In the case of an amendment or correction

14  statement, the record:

15         a.  Does not correctly identify the initial financing

16  statement as required by s. 679.512 or s. 679.518, as

17  applicable; or

18         b.  Identifies an initial financing statement the

19  effectiveness of which has lapsed under s. 679.515;

20         3.  In the case of an initial financing statement that

21  provides the name of a debtor identified as an individual or

22  an amendment that provides a name of a debtor identified as an

23  individual which was not previously provided in the financing

24  statement to which the record relates, the record does not

25  identify the debtor's last name and first name or initial; or

26         4.  In the case of a record filed or recorded in the

27  filing office described in s. 679.5011(1)(a), the record does

28  not provide a sufficient description of the real property to

29  which it relates;

30         (e)  In the case of an initial financing statement or

31  an amendment that adds a secured party of record, the record

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  1  does not provide an organization's name or, if an individual,

  2  the individual's last name and first name or initial and

  3  mailing address for the secured party of record;

  4         (g)  In the case of an assignment reflected in an

  5  initial financing statement under s. 679.514(1) or an

  6  amendment filed under s. 679.514(2), the record does not

  7  provide an organization's name or, if an individual, the

  8  individual's last name and first name or initial and mailing

  9  address for the assignee;

10         (h)  In the case of a continuation statement, the

11  record is not filed within the 6-month period prescribed by s.

12  679.515(4); or

13         (i)  In the case of an initial financing statement or

14  an amendment, which amendment requires the inclusion of a

15  collateral statement but the record does not provide any, the

16  record does not provide a statement of collateral.; or

17         Section 11.  Subsection (1) of section 679.519, Florida

18  Statutes, is amended to read:

19         679.519  Numbering, maintaining, and indexing records;

20  communicating information provided in records.--

21         (1)  For each record filed in a filing office, the

22  filing office shall, in accordance with such other laws

23  applicable to the recording of instruments by a filing office

24  described in s. 679.5011(1)(a):

25         (a)  Assign a unique number to the filed record;

26         (b)  Create a record that bears the number assigned to

27  the filed record and the date and time of filing;

28         (c)  Maintain the filed record for public inspection;

29  and

30         (d)  Index the filed record in accordance with

31  subsections (3), (4), and (5).

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  1         Section 12.  Subsections (2) and (4) of section

  2  679.527, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

  3         679.527  Florida Secured Transaction Registry.--

  4         (2)  Under chapter 287, the department has the

  5  authority to determine and select the most qualified

  6  respondents to the request for qualifications and to negotiate

  7  and enter into one or more contracts as provided in this

  8  section. The contract may not be assignable or otherwise

  9  transferable without the express written consent of the

10  department, notwithstanding any limitations imposed by s.

11  679.4061 or s. 679.4081.

12         (4)  Notwithstanding the terms and conditions of any

13  contract to perform the administrative and operational

14  functions of the filing office or filing officer under this

15  part for the Florida Secured Transaction Registry, the

16  department and the state shall retain sole and exclusive

17  ownership of the materials and records of the registry, shall

18  have the right to inspect and make copies of the materials and

19  records of the registry, and shall have the right to

20  immediately reclaim and take possession and control of the

21  original materials and records of the registry if any entity

22  under contract with the department to administer and operate

23  the registry does not, or cannot, perform the terms and

24  conditions of the contract for any reason or commences or is

25  adjudicated a debtor in consents to an insolvency proceeding.

26  If the department reclaims control of the materials and

27  records of the registry, the department shall provide for the

28  uninterrupted fulfillment of the duties of the filing office

29  and filing officer under this chapter by administration and

30  operation by the department until a subsequent contract for

31  such duties can be executed.  The department shall be entitled

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  1  to injunctive relief if the entity fails to turn over the

  2  materials and records upon demand, and the Circuit Court for

  3  Leon County, Florida, shall have exclusive original

  4  jurisdiction to adjudicate any disputes pertaining to this

  5  section or any contract entered into under this section.

  6         Section 13.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (5) of section

  7  679.625, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  8         679.625  Remedies for failure to comply with article.--

  9         (5)  In lieu of damages recoverable under subsection

10  (2), the debtor, consumer obligor, or person named as a debtor

11  in a filed record, as applicable, may recover $500 in each

12  case from a person who:

13         (f)  Fails to comply with s. 679.616(2)(b) with respect

14  to a consumer transaction, and with respect to a transaction

15  other than a consumer transaction, after receipt of an

16  authenticated record notifying the person of such

17  noncompliance.

18         Section 14.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

20  

21            *****************************************

22                          HOUSE SUMMARY

23  
      Revises provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code amended
24    in the 2001 Regular Session to clarify and conform to
      such amendments. Clarifies the application of laws of
25    this state to security interests in goods as fixtures and
      revises operation of provisions specifying priority of
26    such security interests.

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

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