1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to commerce; regulating claims against the 
  1.3             recovery portion of the real estate education, 
  1.4             research, and recovery fund; requiring accelerated 
  1.5             claims payment under certain circumstances; amending 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 82.34, by adding a 
  1.7             subdivision. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 82.34, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 7a.  [ACCELERATED CLAIMS PAYMENT.] (a) The 
  1.12  commissioner shall pay claims from the recovery portion of the 
  1.13  fund that do not exceed the jurisdiction limits for conciliation 
  1.14  court matters as specified in section 491A.01 on an accelerated 
  1.15  basis if all of the requirements in subdivision 7 and paragraphs 
  1.16  (b) to (f) have been satisfied. 
  1.17     (b) When any aggrieved person as defined in subdivision 7 
  1.18  obtains a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction, 
  1.19  regardless of whether the judgment has been discharged by a 
  1.20  bankruptcy court against a licensee on grounds specified in 
  1.21  subdivision 7, the aggrieved person may file a verified 
  1.22  application with the commissioner for payment out of the 
  1.23  recovery portion of the fund of the amount of actual and direct 
  1.24  out-of-pocket loss in the transaction, but excluding any 
  1.25  attorney fees, interest on the loss, and on any judgment 
  1.26  obtained as a result of the loss, up to the conciliation court 
  2.1   jurisdiction limits, of the amount unpaid upon the judgment.  
  2.2   For purposes of this section, persons who are joint tenants or 
  2.3   tenants in common are deemed to be a single claimant. 
  2.4      (c) The commissioner shall send the licensee a copy of the 
  2.5   verified application by first-class mail to the licensee's 
  2.6   address as it appears in the records of the department of 
  2.7   commerce with a notice that the claim will be paid 15 days from 
  2.8   the date of the notice unless the licensee notifies the 
  2.9   commissioner before that date of the commencement of an appeal 
  2.10  of the judgment, if the time for appeal has not expired, and 
  2.11  that payment of the claim will result in automatic suspension of 
  2.12  the licensee's license. 
  2.13     (d) If the licensee does not notify the commissioner of the 
  2.14  commencement of an appeal, the commissioner shall pay the claim 
  2.15  at the end of the 15-day period. 
  2.16     (e) If an appeal is commenced, the payment of the claim is 
  2.17  stayed until the conclusion of the appeal. 
  2.18     (f) The commissioner may pay claims which total no more 
  2.19  than $7,500 against the licensee under this accelerated 
  2.20  process.  The commissioner may prorate the amount of claims paid 
  2.21  under this subdivision if claims in excess of $7,500 against the 
  2.22  licensee are submitted.  Any unpaid portions of these claims 
  2.23  must be satisfied in the manner set forth in subdivision 14.