468.395  Conditions of recovery; eligibility.--

(1)  Any aggrieved person who obtains a final judgment in any court against any licensee to recover damages for failure to meet the obligations of a licensee under this part and the rules adopted by the board, with or without findings by the board, that results in an actual cash loss to the aggrieved person may, upon termination of all proceedings, including appeals and proceedings supplemental to judgment for collection purposes, file a verified application in the court in which the judgment was entered for an order directing payment out of the Auctioneer Recovery Fund of the amount of actual and direct loss in the transaction that remains unpaid upon the judgment. Notwithstanding subsection (3), any application received by the court in which the judgment was entered within 6 months of termination of all proceedings, including appeals and proceedings supplemental to judgment for collection purposes, shall be considered timely filed. The amount of actual and direct loss may include court costs, but shall not include attorney's fees or punitive damages awarded. The amount paid from the Auctioneer Recovery Fund may not exceed $50,000 per judgment or judgments arising out of the same transaction or auction and an aggregate lifetime limit of $100,000 with respect to any one licensee.

(2)  At the time the action is commenced, such person shall give notice thereof to the board by certified mail, except that, if no notice is given to the board, the claim may still be honored if, in the opinion of the board, the claim is otherwise valid.

(3)  A claim for recovery from the Auctioneer Recovery Fund shall be made within 2 years from the time of the act giving rise to the claim or within 2 years from the time the act is discovered or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence; however, in no event may a claim for recovery be made more than 4 years after the date of the act giving rise to the claim.

(4)  The court shall not issue an order for payment of a claim from the Auctioneer Recovery Fund unless the claimant has reasonably established for the court that she or he has taken proper and reasonable action to collect the amount of her or his claim from the licensed auctioneer responsible for the loss and that any recovery made has been applied to reduce the amount of the claim on the Auctioneer Recovery Fund.

(5)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, no claim shall be submitted for payment to or payment from the Auctioneer Recovery Fund until after October 1, 1995.