§ 28:9–613. Contents and form of notification before disposition of collateral: general.

Except in a consumer-goods transaction, the following rules apply:

(1) The contents of a notification of disposition are sufficient if the notification:

(A) Describes the debtor and the secured party;

(B) Describes the collateral that is the subject of the intended disposition;

(D) States that the debtor is entitled to an accounting of the unpaid indebtedness and states the charge, if any, for an accounting; and

(E) States the time and place of a public disposition or the time after which any other disposition is to be made.

(2) Whether the contents of a notification that lacks any of the information specified in paragraph (1) are nevertheless sufficient is a question of fact.

(3) The contents of a notification providing substantially the information specified in paragraph (1) are sufficient, even if the notification includes:

(A) Information not specified by that paragraph; or

(B) Minor errors that are not seriously misleading.

(4) A particular phrasing of the notification is not required.

(5) The following form of notification and the form appearing in § 28:9-614(3), when completed, each provides sufficient information:

NOTIFICATION OF DISPOSITION OF COLLATERAL

“To: [Name of debtor, obligor, or other person to which the notification is sent]

“From: [Name, address, and telephone number of secured party]

“Name of Debtor(s): [Include only if debtor(s) are not an addressee]

“[For a public disposition:]

“We will sell [or lease or license, as applicable] the [describe collateral] [to the highest qualified bidder] in public as follows:

“Day and Date: ...............

“Time: ...............

“Place: ...............

“Time: ...............

“[For a private disposition:]

“We will sell [or lease or license, as applicable] the [describe collateral] privately sometime after [day and date].

“You are entitled to an accounting of the unpaid indebtedness secured by the property that we intend to sell [or lease or license, as applicable] [for a charge of $..........]. You may request an accounting by calling us at [telephone number]

“[End of Form]”

(Oct. 26, 2000, D.C. Law 13-201, § 101, 47 DCR 7576.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 28:9-602 and § 28:9-614.

Uniform Commercial Code Comment

1. Source. New.

2. Contents of Notification. To comply with the “reasonable authenticated notification” requirement of Section 9-611(b), the contents of a notification must be reasonable. Except in a consumer-goods transaction, the contents of a notification that includes the information set forth in paragraph (1) are sufficient as a matter of law, unless the parties agree otherwise. (The reference to “time” of disposition means here, as it did in former Section 9-504(3), not only the hour of the day but also the date.) Although a secured party may choose to include additional information concerning the transaction or the debtor’s rights and obligations, no additional information is required unless the parties agree otherwise. A notification that lacks some of the information set forth in paragraph (1) nevertheless may be sufficient if found to be reasonable by the trier of fact, under paragraph (2). A properly completed sample form of notification in paragraph (5) or in Section 9-614(a)(3) is an example of a notification that would contain the information set forth in paragraph (1). Under paragraph (4), however, no particular phrasing of the notification is required.