Title 19
Financial Institutions

Chapter 26
Pawnbrokers

§ 19-26-10. Sale of unredeemed articles.

(a) No pawnbroker shall sell or dispose of any property pawned with him or her within three (3) months after the maturity of the loan on the property if not of a perishable nature; and, if perishable, for at least one month after that date. For the purposes of this section, “perishable” means any item(s) or good(s) subject to rapid decay and/or the value of which will be diminished if not put to the intended use within a short time.

(b)(1) All such sales shall be made in this state.

(2) All sales of articles received in pawn by any pawnbroker shall be at public auction to the highest bidder, except that any article less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) in value may be sold at private sale, and a record of the articles sold and the sale prices shall be made, at the time of the sale, in the book required to be kept by the pawnbroker by § 19-26-5.

(3) Notice of the sale at public auction shall be published at least six (6) days before the sale in one of the public newspapers, published in English, in the city or town where the business is carried on, or if no newspaper is published in the city or town, then in some newspaper published in the county in which the city or town is located.

(4) The notice shall specify the time and place at which the sale is to take place and by whom it is to be conducted, and shall contain the same number and description of the articles or goods to be sold as is contained in the memorandum delivered to the pawnor as required by § 19-26-5.

(c) The borrower, or any person entitled to the property pledged, may, at any time prior to the sale, pay or tender to the pawnbroker the amount loaned and the interest on the loan, together with the proportionate cost of advertising the sale, if any, and the payment or tender shall reinvest the pawnor or the person entitled to the property pledged with the title and right of possession to the property pawned free of the pledge.