House Bill No. 509

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act creating a statutory lien for a motor vehicle owner or the insurer of a motor vehicle owner who has the required motor vehicle liability coverage and who suffers a property damage loss as a result of an accident with a person that does not have the required coverage if that person is cited for a traffic violation in addition to the citation for lack of coverage; providing for filing the lien; providing a statute of limitations for foreclosing on the lien; and providing for persons who may be parties to an action on the lien."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Statutory lien. (1) A motor vehicle owner or the insurer of a motor vehicle owner who has the required liability insurance or indemnity bond for a motor vehicle that is damaged as a result of an accident with a person who does not have the required motor vehicle liability insurance or indemnity bond has a statutory lien against all real and personal property of the person without the required liability insurance or indemnity bond if that person receives a citation for a traffic violation in addition to a citation for not having the required coverage.

(2) (a) A motor vehicle owner entitled to a lien, as provided in subsection (1), has a lien for the amount of the total out-of-pocket losses for property damage suffered by the motor vehicle owner as a result of the accident.

(b) An insurer entitled to a lien, as provided in subsection (1), has a lien for the amount paid out for property damage by the insurer as a result of the accident.

(3) A motor vehicle owner or the insurer of a motor vehicle owner who has the required liability insurance or indemnity bond is not entitled to a lien under this section if the motor vehicle owner receives a citation for a traffic violation in conjunction with the accident.

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Filing and content of lien notice. The notice for a lien provided for in [section 1] must be filed within 6 months of the date of the accident and may be filed in substantially this form in any county in which real or personal property is located or that is the residence of the person against whom the lien is claimed:

...., Claimant, vs. .....

I, ...... (insert name and address of person claiming lien), claim a lien pursuant to the provisions of [section 1].

I claim this lien against all real and personal property of .... (insert name and address of person against whom the lien is being claimed).

On the .... day of ...., I and ..... (name of person against whom the lien is being claimed) were involved in a motor vehicle accident in which I had the required liability coverage and .... (name of person against whom lien is being claimed) did not have the required liability coverage and in addition was cited for the following traffic violation ......

As a result of the accident, I have suffered property damage in the amount of $...... of which the amount of $.... remains unpaid and is now due and owing.

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Duties of county clerk. The county clerk shall file and record any lien claim presented under the provisions of [sections 1 and 2].

NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Parties. Any person with an interest in the controversy or in property charged with a lien created pursuant to the provisions of [sections 1 and 2] may be a party to any action to foreclose upon a lien created pursuant to [sections 1 and 2].

NEW SECTION. Section 5.  Limitation of actions. All actions brought to enforce a lien created pursuant to [sections 1 and 2] must be commenced within 2 years from the date of the filing of the lien.

NEW SECTION. Section 6.  Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 5] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 61, chapter 6, part 3, and the provisions of Title 61, chapter 6, part 3, apply to [sections 1 through 5].

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