California Health and Safety Code 18070 – (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the …
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The financial hardship endured by someone who is buying or selling a manufactured home for the purpose of using it for a primary residence is more profound than the hardship of someone who is selling or purchasing a manufactured home for investment purposes.
Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 18070
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
- Director: means "State Director of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 21
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
(2) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter that any claims for primary residences submitted, pursuant to this chapter, by a claimant for payment from the fund shall be given priority over claims submitted for investment purposes.
(3) The distinctions made in this chapter between claims made for personal residential purposes and claims made for investment purposes shall reflect the priorities set forth in this paragraph.
(4) The costs of seeking and obtaining civil judgments and related collection efforts to support claims for compensation often exceed the ability of claimants and the amounts received.
(5) The costs and efforts of public entities obtaining criminal or administrative restitution orders could provide further benefits if these orders could be used as the basis for compensation claims.
(b) The following definitions shall apply for the purposes of this chapter:
(1) “Actual and direct loss” includes the following:
(A) The amount of the actual and direct loss, interest at the statutory rate from the date of loss, plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in pursuit of the judgment, not to exceed 25 percent of the amount of the judgment, if the claim is based on a judgment obtained by a private attorney or an attorney employed by a nonprofit corporation, and not to exceed 35 percent of the amount of the judgment if the claim is based on a judgment obtained by an attorney employed by a public agency.
(B) The amount of the actual and direct loss, if the claim is not based on a judgment. However, the claimant may collect actual and reasonable costs incurred in pursuit of compensation including attorney’s fees not exceeding 15 percent of the amount of the claim and court costs, if any.
“Actual and direct loss” does not include any punitive damages or damages awarded for negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
(2) “Claimant” does not include a person holding a lien on, or a person possessing a secondary interest in, a manufactured home.
(3) “Conversion” means the unlawful appropriation of the property of another.
(4) “Judgment” means any of the following:
(A) A final judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction, other than a court in another state, including, but not limited to, a criminal restitution order issued pursuant to subdivision (f) of § 1202.4 of the Penal Code or Section 3663 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
(B) An order of the director, including an order for restitution, based on an accusation filed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 18058) of Chapter 7, after an opportunity for a hearing.
(5) “Complaint” means the facts of the underlying transaction upon which the criminal restitution order or administrative order is based.
(6) “Judgment debtor” means any defendant who is the subject of the criminal restitution order or civil judgment, any respondent who is the subject of an administrative accusation and order, or any person responsible for any violation upon which payment is made, as determined by the department.
(c) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the Manufactured Home Recovery Fund. The money in the fund shall be used only for the purposes of this chapter, including payment of the department’s administrative costs incurred pursuant to this chapter. The department’s costs may include any investigative costs incurred under this chapter, costs incurred to render a decision pursuant to Section 18070.3, and costs incurred in defending a decision on appeal.
(d) The moneys in the fund may be invested pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 16430) of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. All income derived from investments of the fund shall be returned to the fund by the Treasurer as the income is earned.
(e) Notwithstanding § 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys in the fund are hereby continuously appropriated to make the payments and distributions required by this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 22, Sec. 119. Effective January 1, 2006.)