Section 5133 Of Article 2. Regulation Of Household Goods Carriers From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 2.
5133
. (a) No household goods carrier shall engage, or attempt to
engage, in the business of the transportation of used household goods
and personal effects, by motor vehicle over any public highway in
this state, including, by any means or media, advertising,
soliciting, offering, arranging as a broker, or entering into an
agreement regarding the transportation of used household goods and
personal effects, unless both of the following are satisfied:
(1) For transportation of household goods and personal effects
entirely within this state, there is in force a permit issued by the
commission authorizing those operations.
(2) For transportation of household goods and personal effects
from this state to another state or from another state to this state,
there is in force a valid operating authority issued by the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
(b) A household goods carrier that engages, or attempts to engage,
in the business of the transportation of used household goods and
personal effects in violation of subdivision (a) may not enforce any
security interest or bring or maintain any action in law or equity to
recover any money or property or obtain any other relief from any
consignor, consignee, or owner of household goods or personal effects
in connection with an agreement to transport, or the transportation
of, household goods and personal effects or any related services. A
person who utilizes the services of a household goods carrier
operating in violation of subdivision (a) may bring an action in any
court of competent jurisdiction in this state to recover all
compensation paid to that household goods carrier.
(c) The operation of a motor vehicle used in the business of
transporting household goods and personal effects by a household
goods carrier that does not possess a valid permit or operating
authority, as required by subdivision (a), constitutes a public
nuisance. Any peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing
with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, may remove
any motor vehicle located within the territorial limits in which the
officer may act, when the vehicle is found upon a highway and is
being used in a manner constituting a public nuisance. At the request
of the commission, the Attorney General, district attorney, city
attorney, or county counsel, the law enforcement agency may impound
the vehicle for a period not to exceed 72 hours to enable the
requesting agency to abate the public nuisance, to obtain an order
from the superior court of the county in which the vehicle has been
impounded to prevent the use of the motor vehicle in violation of
law, and to obtain any other remedy available under law as permitted
by Section 5316.
(d) Any person having possession or control of used household
goods or personal effects, who knows, or through the exercise of
reasonable care should know, that a household goods carrier
transported those household goods or personal effects in violation of
subdivision (a), shall release the household goods and personal
effects to the consignor or consignee, as defined in Section 5142,
upon the request of the consignor or consignee. If that person fails
to release the household goods and personal effects, any peace
officer, as defined in subdivision (c), may take custody of the
household goods and personal effects and release them to the
consignor or consignee.