§51. Holding of deposit
A. The deposit made by an applicant for licensure pursuant to R.S. 51:47(D) shall
be held by the consumer protection section for a period of sixty days from the date of
delivery of a returned license or from the date of acceptance of an affidavit in lieu of return. B. While in the hands of the consumer protection section, such deposit shall be
subject to attachment or execution in behalf of creditors or consumers whose claim may arise
in connection with business done pursuant to the license for which such deposit was made.
The consumer protection section may also be held to answer as garnishee under process of
foreign attachment in any civil action brought against the licensee. However, no such
payment may be made or garnished from the deposit of a licensee until the expiration of the
sixty-day period specified in Subsection A of this Section.
C. While in the hands of the consumer protection section, such deposit shall also be
subject to the payment of any fine or penalty imposed on the licensee for violation of any
provision of this Part. However, such payment shall be made only if the clerk of the court
imposing such fine or penalty notifies the section of the name of the licensee and the amount
of the fine or penalty during the period in which the deposit is in the hands of the consumer
protection section.
D. After satisfying all claims made upon a licensee's deposit, the consumer
protection section shall return the deposit, or such portion of the deposit as remains in its
hands to the licensee or as directed by the licensee.
E. Upon the failure of the licensee to return the license or an affidavit in lieu of such
return within three hundred sixty-five calendar days from the expiration of the license, the
deposit shall revert to the Unclaimed Property Division of the Department of the Treasury
in the name of the licensee and the consumer protection section of the Department of Justice.
F. While in the hands of the Unclaimed Property Division of the Department of the
Treasury, the deposit shall be subject to the provisions of Subsections A through D of this
Section. The deposit shall be released by the Department of Treasury to the licensee only
upon verification by the Department of Justice that the licensee has complied with R.S. 51:50
and Subsection A of this Section.
G. Any deposit remaining in the consumer protection section which was received
more than three hundred sixty-five calendar days prior to July 1, 2018, shall revert to the
unclaimed property division of the Department of the Treasury in the name of the licensee
and the consumer protection section. The provisions of Subsections E and F of this Section
shall apply to such deposit.
Acts 1995, No. 669, §1; Acts 2018, No. 374, §1, eff. July 1, 2018; Acts 2019, No.
439, §2, eff. July 1, 2019.