Opinion No. (2007)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General SUSAN DUNCAN LEE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE RONALD CALDERON, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: Where a motor vehicle lease has expired, and the lessee voluntarily surrenders possession of the vehicle at his or her residence to a motor vehicle dealer, acting as the agent of and pursuant to a contract with the lessor who holds a security interest in the vehicle, and the dealer thereafter sells the vehicle at a wholesale used vehicle auction on behalf of the lessor, is the dealer required to hold a license as a "repossession agency" under the Collateral Recovery Act? *Page 2 CONCLUSION Where a motor vehicle lease has expired, and the lessee voluntarily surrenders possession of the vehicle at his or her residence to a motor vehicle dealer, acting as the agent of and pursuant to a contract with the lessor who holds a security interest in the vehicle, and the dealer thereafter sells the vehicle at a wholesale used vehicle auction on behalf of the lessor, the dealer is required to hold a license as a "repossession agency" under the Collateral Recovery Act. ANALYSIS We are asked to address a…