AN ACT to create a motor VEHICLE chop shop law regarding the receiving, possession, and distribution of stolen or altered motor VEHICLES and motor VEHICLE parts.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 16 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 14‑72.7.  Chop shop activity.
(a)	A person is guilty of a Class H felony if that person knowingly engages in any of the following activities, without regard to the value of the property in question:
(1)	Altering, destroying, disassembling, dismantling, reassembling, or storing any motor vehicle or motor vehicle part the person knows to be illegally obtained by theft, fraud, or other illegal means.
(2)	Permitting a place to be used for any activity prohibited by this section, where the person either owns or has legal possession of the place, and knows that the place is being used for any activity prohibited by this section.
(3)	Purchasing, disposing of, selling, transferring, receiving, or possessing a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part with the knowledge that the vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle, or vehicle part identification number of the vehicle part, has been altered, counterfeited, defaced, destroyed, disguised, falsified, forged, obliterated, or removed.
(4)	Purchasing, disposing of, selling, transferring, receiving, or possessing a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to or from a person engaged in any activity prohibited by this section, knowing that the person is engaging in that activity.
(b)	Innocent Activities. –  The provisions of this section shall not apply to either of the following:
(1)	Purchasing, disposing of, selling, transferring, receiving, possessing, crushing, or compacting a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part in good faith and without knowledge of previous illegal activity in regard to that vehicle or part, as long as the person engaging in the activity does not remove a vehicle identification number or vehicle part identification number before or during the activity. 
(2)	Purchasing, disposing of, selling, transferring, receiving, possessing, crushing, or compacting a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part after law enforcement proceedings are completed or as a part of law enforcement proceedings, as long as the activity is not in conflict with law enforcement proceedings. 
(c)	Civil Penalty. – Any court with jurisdiction of a criminal prosecution under this section may also assess a civil penalty. The clear proceeds of the civil penalties shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with G.S. 115C‑457.2. The civil penalty shall not exceed three times the assets obtained by the defendant as a result of violations of this section.
(d)	Private Actions. –  Any person aggrieved by a violation of this section may, in a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, obtain appropriate relief, including preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief, compensatory and punitive damages, reasonable investigation expenses, costs of suit, and any attorneys' fees as may be provided by law.
(e)	Seizure and Forfeiture. – Any instrumentality possessed or used to engage in the activities prohibited by this section are subject to the seizure and forfeiture provisions of G.S. 14‑86.1. The real property of a place used to engage in the activities prohibited by this section is subject to the abatement and forfeiture provisions of Chapter 19 of the General Statutes.
(f)	Definitions. – For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)	Instrumentality. – Motor vehicle, motor vehicle part, other conveyance, tool, implement, or equipment possessed or used in the activities prohibited under this section.
(2)	Vehicle identification number. – A number, a letter, a character, a datum, a derivative, or a combination thereof, used by the manufacturer or the Division of Motor Vehicles for the purpose of uniquely identifying a motor vehicle.
(3)	Vehicle part identification number. – A number, a letter, a character, a datum, a derivative, or a combination thereof, used by the manufacturer for the purpose of uniquely identifying a motor vehicle part."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑86.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	All conveyances, including vehicles, watercraft or aircraft, used to unlawfully conceal, convey or transport property in violation of G.S. 14‑71, 14‑71.1, or 20‑106, or used by any person in the commission of armed or common‑law robbery, or used in violation of G.S. 14‑72.7, or used by any person in the commission of any larceny when the value of the property taken is more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) shall be subject to forfeiture as provided herein, except that:
(1)	No conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction of the business of the common carrier shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section unless it shall appear that the owner or other person in custody or control of such conveyance was a consenting party or privy to a violation that may subject the conveyance to forfeiture under this section;
(2)	No conveyance shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section by reason of any act or omission committed or omitted while such conveyance was unlawfully in the possession of a person other than the owner in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or any state;
(3)	No conveyance shall be forfeited pursuant to this section unless the violation involved is a felony;
(4)	A forfeiture of a conveyance encumbered by a bona fide security interest is subject to the interest of the secured party who neither had knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission;
(5)	No conveyance shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section unless the owner knew or had reason to believe the vehicle was being used in the commission of any violation that may subject the conveyance to forfeiture under this section;
(6)	The trial judge in the criminal proceeding which may subject the conveyance to forfeiture may order the seized conveyance returned to the owner if he finds forfeiture inappropriate. If the conveyance is not returned to the owner the procedures provided in subsection (e) shall apply.
As used in this section concerning a violation of G.S. 14‑72.7, the term "conveyance" includes any "instrumentality" as defined in that section."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 19‑1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19‑1.  What are nuisances under this Chapter.
(a)	The erection, establishment, continuance, maintenance, use, ownership or leasing of any building or place for the purpose of assignation, prostitution, gambling, illegal possession or sale of alcoholic beverages, illegal possession or sale of controlled substances as defined in the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, or illegal possession or sale of obscene or lewd matter, as defined in this Chapter, shall constitute a nuisance.
(b)	The erection, establishment, continuance, maintenance, use, ownership or leasing of any building or place wherein or whereon are carried on, conducted, or permitted repeated acts which create and constitute a breach of the peace shall constitute a nuisance.
(b1)	The erection, establishment, continuance, maintenance, use, ownership or leasing of any building or place wherein or whereon are carried on, conducted, or permitted repeated activities or conditions which violate a local ordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses so as to contribute to adverse secondary impacts shall constitute a nuisance.
(b2)	The erection, establishment, continuance, maintenance, use, ownership, or leasing of any building or place for the purpose of carrying on, conducting, or engaging in any activities in violation of G.S. 14‑72.7.
(c)	The building, place, vehicle, or the ground itself, in or upon which a nuisance as defined in subsection (a), (b), or (b1) of this section is carried on, and the furniture, fixtures, and contents, are also declared a nuisance, and shall be enjoined and abated as hereinafter provided."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 19‑6.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 19‑6.1.  Forfeiture of real property.
In all actions where a preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or an order of abatement is issued pursuant to this Article in which the nuisance consists of or includes at least two prior occurrences within five years of the manufacture, possession with intent to sell, or sale of controlled substances as defined by the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, two prior occurrences of the possession of any controlled substance included within Schedule I or II of that Act, or two prior convictions within five years of violation of G.S. 14‑72.7, the real property on which the nuisance exists or is maintained is subject to forfeiture in accordance with this section. In the case of the two prior convictions of G.S. 14‑72.7, the convictions shall not arise out of the same transaction or occurrence.
If all of the owners of the property are defendants in the action, the plaintiff, other than a plaintiff who is a private citizen, may request forfeiture of the real property as part of the relief sought. If forfeiture is requested, and if jurisdiction over all defendant owners is established, upon judgment against the defendant or defendants, the court shall order forfeiture as follows:
(1)	If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that all the owners either (i) have participated in maintaining the nuisance on the property, or (ii) prior to the action had written notice from the plaintiff, or any governmental agent or entity authorized to bring an action pursuant to this Chapter, that the nuisance existed or was maintained on the property and have not made good faith efforts to stop the nuisance from occurring or recurring, the court shall order that the property be forfeited;
(2)	If the court finds that one or more of the owners did not participate in maintaining the nuisance on the property or did not have written notice from the plaintiff prior to the action that the nuisance existed or was maintained on the property, the court shall not order forfeiture of the property immediately upon judgment. However, if after judgment and an order directing the defendants to abate the nuisance, the nuisance either continues, begins again, or otherwise recurs within five years of the order and the defendants have not made good faith efforts to abate the nuisance, the plaintiff may petition the court for forfeiture. Upon such petition, the defendant owner or owners shall be given notice and an opportunity to appear and be heard at a hearing to determine the continuation or recurrence of the nuisance. If, in this hearing (i) the plaintiff establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the nuisance, with the owner's or owners' knowledge, has either continued, begun again, or otherwise recurred, and (ii) the defendants fail to establish that they have made and are continuing to make good faith efforts to abate the nuisance, the court shall order that the property be forfeited.
For the purposes of this section, factors which may evidence good faith by the defendant to abate the nuisance include but are not limited to (i) cooperation with law enforcement authorities to abate the nuisance; (ii) lease restrictions prohibiting the illegal possession or sale of narcotic drugs and an action to evict a tenant for any violations of the lease provision; (iii) a criminal record check of prospective tenants; and (iv) reference checks of prior residency of prospective tenants.
Upon an order of forfeiture, title to the property shall vest in the school board of the county in which the property is located. If at the time of forfeiture the property is subject to a lien or security interest of a person not participating in the maintenance of the nuisance, the school board shall either (i) pay an amount to that person satisfying the lien or security interest; or (ii) sell the property and satisfy the lien or security interest from the proceeds of the sale. If the property is not subject to any lien or security interest at the time of forfeiture, the school board may hold, maintain, lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of the property as it sees fit.
Upon the filing of the action, the plaintiff may file a notice of lis pendens in the official records of the county where the property is located. If the plaintiff files a notice of lis pendens, any person purchasing or obtaining an interest in the property thereafter shall be considered to have notice of the alleged nuisance, and shall forfeit his interest in the property upon a judgment of forfeiture in favor of the plaintiff.
If in the same action in which real property is forfeited the court finds that a tenant or occupant of the property participated in or maintained the nuisance, the lease or other title under which the tenant or occupant holds is void, and the right of possession vests in the new owner. Upon forfeiture, the rights of innocent tenants occupying separate units of the property who were not involved in the nuisance at the time the action was filed shall be in accordance with any relevant lease provisions in effect at the time or, in the absence of relevant lease provisions, in accordance with the law applying to other tenants or occupants of property that is sold, foreclosed upon, or otherwise obtained by new owners."
SECTION 5.  If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2007, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 27th day of June, 2007.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 8:02 a.m. this 5th day of July, 2007