HB 159: "An Act relating to the removal of unlawful occupants from residential real property; relating to the crimes of trespass, forgery, and deceptive business practices; and amending Rules 82 and 85(a), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 159 01 "An Act relating to the removal of unlawful occupants from residential real property; 02 relating to the crimes of trespass, forgery, and deceptive business practices; and 03 amending Rules 82 and 85(a), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 09.45 is amended by adding a new section to article 12 to read: 06 Sec. 09.45.950. Removal of unauthorized occupant from residential real 07 property. (a) Notwithstanding AS 09.45.060 - 09.45.160, a person who is the owner 08 of residential real property or an agent of the owner of the property may file a request 09 with a peace officer to remove a person who is unlawfully occupying a dwelling unit 10 located on the property if 11 (1) the occupant entered the dwelling unit when the dwelling unit was 12 not open to the public or when the occupant was not otherwise privileged to do so; 13 (2) the occupant continues to occupy the dwelling unit; 14 (3) the owner or an agent of the owner of the property has directed the
01 occupant to leave the dwelling unit; 02 (4) the occupant does not have, and has not had, a rental agreement 03 entitling the occupant to occupy a dwelling unit located on the property; 04 (5) the occupant is not an immediate family member of the property 05 owner; and 06 (6) no litigation related to the property is pending between the property 07 owner and the occupant. 08 (b) A request submitted under (a) of this section must be made under oath and 09 be in substantially the following form: 10 REQUEST TO REMOVE AN UNLAWFUL 11 OCCUPANT OF RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY. 12 I, ________________________, am the (check one) [ ] owner, 13 or [ ] agent of ________________________, who is the owner, of the 14 residential real property located at _____________________________, 15 and I declare under the penalty of perjury that (initial each box): 16 1. [ ] I am the owner or an agent of the owner of the property. 17 2. [ ] The owner purchased the property on ______________. 18 3. [ ] The property is residential real property and has a 19 dwelling unit located on the property. 20 4. [ ] A person entered the dwelling unit when the dwelling 21 unit was not open to the public or when the person was not otherwise 22 privileged to do so. 23 5. [ ] The occupant continues to occupy the dwelling unit. 24 6. [ ] ________________________, who is the owner or an 25 agent of the owner of the property, has directed the occupant to leave 26 the dwelling unit. 27 7. [ ] The occupant does not have, and has not had, a rental 28 agreement entitling the occupant to occupy a dwelling unit located on 29 the property. 30 8. [ ] The occupant is not an owner of the property.
01 9. [ ] The occupant is not an immediate family member of the 02 property owner. 03 10. [ ] No litigation related to the property is pending between 04 the property owner and the occupant. 05 11. [ ] I understand that an occupant removed from the 06 property under AS 09.45.950 may file an action against me for any 07 false statements made in this request or for wrongfully using this 08 procedure and that I may be held liable for actual damages, penalties, 09 costs, and full reasonable attorney fees as a result. 10 12. [ ] I am requesting that a peace officer immediately 11 remove the occupant from the property. 12 13. [ ] A copy of my valid government-issued identification is 13 attached, or I am an agent of the property owner and have attached 14 evidence of my authority to act on the owner's behalf. 15 I HAVE READ EVERY STATEMENT MADE IN THIS REQUEST 16 AND EACH STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. I 17 UNDERSTAND THAT A PERSON WHO MAKES A FALSE 18 SWORN STATEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH A REQUEST 19 MADE UNDER AS 09.45.950 IS SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL 20 PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AS PROVIDED IN AS 11.56.200. 21 Signature: _________________________________ 22 Date of Signature: ___________________________ 23 (c) A person filing a request under this section shall file the request with a 24 peace officer of the municipality or unincorporated community in which the property 25 is located. If the property is located outside of a municipality or unincorporated 26 community, the person shall file the request with the nearest available peace officer. 27 (d) A peace officer receiving a request under this section shall verify that the 28 requester is the record owner of the residential real property or an agent of the record 29 owner of the property and appears entitled to relief under this section. If the request is 30 verified, the peace officer shall timely serve the occupant with notice to immediately 31 vacate and deliver possession of the dwelling unit to the owner. Service may be
01 accomplished by hand delivery of the notice to an occupant or by posting the notice on 02 the front door or entrance of the dwelling unit. The peace officer shall attempt to 03 verify the identity of each occupant of the dwelling unit and note the identities of each 04 occupant on the return of service. A requester shall pay a fee for service of a notice 05 under this subsection that is equivalent to the fee for service of process of a summons 06 listed under Rule 11(a), Alaska Rules of Administration. 07 (e) After notice is served under (d) of this section, the owner or an agent of the 08 owner of the property may request that the peace officer remain on the property to 09 keep the peace while the owner or agent changes the locks and removes the personal 10 property of the occupant from the dwelling unit to or near the property line. The peace 11 officer may require the requester to pay a reasonable hourly rate to the government 12 agency employing the peace officer. 13 (f) Except when an occupant is removed from the property wrongfully under 14 this section, the owner or an agent of the owner of the property is not liable to an 15 occupant or another person for the loss, destruction, or damage of personal property 16 resulting from the removal of the occupant and the occupant's property from a 17 dwelling unit under this section. 18 (g) Notwithstanding AS 34.03.210, an occupant who has been wrongfully 19 removed from a dwelling unit under this section may bring an action to restore 20 possession of the property under AS 09.45.060 - 09.45.160 and may recover 21 (1) actual damages; 22 (2) three times the value of one month of fair market rent for the 23 dwelling unit; and 24 (3) full reasonable attorney fees. 25 (h) This section does not limit the rights of property owners or prohibit a 26 peace officer from arresting an occupant for criminal trespass or another legal cause. 27 (i) In this section, 28 (1) "dwelling unit" has the meaning given in AS 34.03.360; 29 (2) "immediate family member" means a spouse, child, sibling, parent, 30 grandparent, grandchild, stepparent, stepchild, or stepsibling; 31 (3) "rental agreement" has the meaning given in AS 34.03.360.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 11.46.320(b) is amended to read: 02 (b) Criminal trespass in the first degree is a 03 (1) class A misdemeanor; or 04 (2) class B felony if the person violates (a)(2) of this section and 05 causes $1,000 or more in damages. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 11.46.505(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) A person commits the crime of forgery in the second degree if the person 08 violates AS 11.46.510 and the instrument is or purports to be 09 (1) a deed, will, codicil, contract, assignment, negotiable or other 10 commercial instrument, rental agreement, or other document which does or may 11 evidence, create, transfer, alter, terminate, or otherwise affect a legal right, interest, 12 obligation, or status; or 13 (2) a public record. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 11.46.710(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) A person commits the crime of deceptive business practices if, in the 16 course of engaging in a business, occupation, or profession, the person 17 (1) makes a false statement in an advertisement or communication 18 addressed to the public or to a substantial number of persons in connection with the 19 promotion of the sale of property or services or to increase the consumption of 20 property or services; 21 (2) uses or possesses for use a false weight or measure or any other 22 device for falsely determining or recording any quality or quantity; 23 (3) sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, or delivers less than the 24 represented quantity of a commodity or service; 25 (4) sells, offers for sale, or exposes for sale adulterated commodities; 26 [OR] 27 (5) sells, offers for sale, or exposes for sale mislabeled commodities; 28 or 29 (6) sells, leases, or advertises for sale or lease a dwelling that the 30 person does not have the right to sell, lease, or advertise. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 11.46.710(c) is amended to read:
01 (c) Except as provided in (d) and (e) of this section, deceptive business 02 practices is a class A misdemeanor. 03 * Sec. 6. AS 11.46.710(d) is amended to read: 04 (d) Deceptive business practices is a class C felony if the person violates 05 (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section and uses the Internet or a computer network 06 to commit the offense. In this subsection, "Internet" means the combination of 07 computer systems or networks that make up the international network for interactive 08 communications services, including remote logins, file transfer, electronic mail, and 09 newsgroups. 10 * Sec. 7. AS 11.46.710 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 11 (e) Deceptive business practices is a class C felony if the person violates (a)(6) 12 of this section. 13 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 85(a), Alaska Rules of Civil 16 Procedure, is amended to read: 17 (a) Practice and Procedure. In an action for the possession of any land, 18 tenement or other real property brought under the forcible entry and detainer 19 provisions of law, the practice and procedure shall be as in other civil actions, subject 20 to the following: 21 (1) Complaint. The premises claimed shall be described in the 22 complaint with such certainty that the defendant will be distinctly advised of their 23 location so that possession thereof may be delivered according to that description. The 24 complaint must contain a notice describing the circumstances under which the clerk 25 may dismiss the case under subsection (a)(6) of this rule. This notice will be printed in 26 the forcible entry and detainer complaint forms approved by the administrative 27 director. If the plaintiff files an action without using the court form, the complaint 28 must nonetheless contain a notice that is identical to that which appears in the court 29 form. The notice shall serve as the actual notice to all parties that is required by 30 paragraph (a)(6) of this rule. 31 (2) Summons. Summons shall be served not less than two days before
01 the day of the eviction hearing. The date set for the eviction hearing shall be not more 02 than 7 [15] days from the date of filing of the complaint unless otherwise ordered by 03 the court. 04 (3) Continuances. No continuance shall be granted for a longer period 05 than 2 days, unless the defendant applying therefor shall give an undertaking to the 06 adverse party, with sureties approved by the court, conditioned to the payment of the 07 rent that may accrue if judgment is rendered against defendant. 08 (4) Appearance by Defendant. An appearance by a defendant at the 09 eviction hearing is an appearance in the entire matter for purposes of Civil Rule 55(a). 10 (5) Service - How Made. A defendant cannot be served under Civil 11 Rule 5 by mailing a copy of the document to the address from which the defendant 12 was evicted unless the defendants current mailing address and whereabouts are not 13 readily ascertainable. 14 (6) Dismissal of Action for Want of Prosecution. 15 (A) By Clerk - Additional Notice to Parties Not Required. A 16 forcible entry and detainer case may be dismissed by the clerk for want of 17 prosecution without further notice to the parties and without further order if 18 (i) the case has been pending for more than 180 days 19 from the date the complaint was filed; 20 (ii) no trial or hearing is scheduled; 21 (iii) no application for default judgment has been filed; 22 and 23 (iv) the parties had actual notice that the case could be 24 dismissed under this paragraph; actual notice of the procedure for 25 dismissal of a forcible entry and detainer case shall be provided in all 26 forcible entry and detainer complaints as provided in subsection (a)(1) 27 of this rule. 28 (B) By Order of Court. The court on its own motion or on 29 motion of a party to the action may enter a judgment of dismissal if the 30 plaintiff fails to appear for a scheduled trial or hearing. 31 (C) Dismissal Without Prejudice. A case dismissed for want of
01 prosecution under this rule is dismissed without prejudice unless otherwise 02 ordered by the court. Any party may, as a matter of right, reopen a case that 03 was dismissed for want of prosecution without refiling the action by making a 04 request in writing to the clerk of court no later than one year after dismissal. 05 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 INDIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. AS 09.45.950(g)(3), enacted by sec. 1 of 08 this Act, has the effect of changing Rule 82, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by allowing the 09 recovery of full reasonable attorney fees to an occupant who has been wrongfully removed 10 from a dwelling unit under AS 09.45.950, enacted by sec. 1 of this Act. 11 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12 read: 13 CONDITIONAL EFFECT. AS 09.45.950(g)(3), enacted by sec. 1 of this Act, takes 14 effect only if sec. 9 of this Act receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by 15 art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska.