TITLE 44 PROPERTY

Section 12. Rights in Personalty, 44-12-1 through 44-12-322.

ARTICLE 3 BAILMENTS

44-12-137. Prohibited acts; penalties; presumption as to pledgor; replacement of lost or damaged goods.

Any pawnbroker and any clerk, agent, or employee of such pawnbroker who shall:
1. Fail to make an entry of any material matter in his permanent record book;
2. Make any false entry therein;
3. Falsify, obliterate, destroy, or remove from his place of business such permanent record book;
4. Refuse to allow any duly authorized law enforcement officer who is certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council or who is a federal officer to inspect his permanent record book or any goods in his possession during the ordinary hours of business or at any reasonable time;
5. Fail to maintain a record of each pawn transaction for at least four years;
6. Accept a pledge or purchase property from a person under the age of 18 years or who the pawnbroker knows is not the true owner of such property;
7. Make any agreement requiring the personal liability of a pledgor or seller or waiving any of the provisions of this part or providing for a maturity date less than one month after the date of the pawn transaction; or
8. Fail to return or replace pledged goods to a pledgor or seller upon payment of the full amount due the pawnbroker unless the pledged goods have been taken into custody by a court or a law enforcement officer or agency,
  shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Any person properly identifying himself and presenting a pawn ticket to the pawnbroker shall be presumed to be the pledgor or seller and shall be entitled to redeem the pledged goods described in such ticket. In the event such pledged goods are lost or damaged while in the possession of the pawnbroker, it shall be the responsibility of the pawnbroker to replace the lost or damaged goods with like kinds of merchandise and proof of replacement shall be a defense to prosecution. For the purposes of this subsection, "lost" includes destroyed or having disappeared because of any cause, whether known or unknown, that results in the pledged goods being unavailable for return to the pledgor.

(Ga. L. 1977, p. 1194, § 4; Ga. L. 1989, p. 819, § 3.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1989, a comma was added following "subsection" in the last sentence of subsection (b).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

- O.C.G.A. §§ 44-12-133 and44-12-137, authorizing a warrantless inspection of pawnshop records, do not violate the fourth amendment. Howell v. Roberts, 656 F. Supp. 1150 (N.D. Ga. 1987).

The law regulating pawnshops does not lack a rational basis. Howell v. Roberts, 656 F. Supp. 1150 (N.D. Ga. 1987).

Due process is not violated simply because a local authority arguably misapplies or exceeds its authority under the relevant state statutes, as where a police officer from one county seeks to inspect a pawnshop record book in another county under O.C.G.A. §§ 44-12-133 and44-12-137. Howell v. Roberts, 656 F. Supp. 1150 (N.D. Ga. 1987).

Construction with §§ 44-12-130 and 44-12-131. - In resolving a statutory conflict between O.C.G.A. §§ 44-12-130(1) and44-12-137(a)(7) with respect to the one-month duration for a pawn transaction and O.C.G.A. § 44-12-131(a)(1) which required a duration of 30 days, it was determined that the criminal penalty in § 44-12-137(a)(7) was inapplicable to a customer's pawn transaction that satisfied the 30-day requirement of § 44-12-131(a)(1); the customer's action against the pawnbroker based on an illegal duration accordingly failed. Marshall v. Speedee Cash, 292 Ga. App. 790, 665 S.E.2d 888 (2008).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Authority of law enforcement officer as to inspection and seizure of stolen property. 1996 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 96-24.

Syfert Injury Law Firm

2018 Georgia Code 44-12-137 | Car Wreck Lawyer