Section 55-9-612 - Timeliness of notification before disposition of collateral

(a) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (b) of this section, whether a notification is sent within a reasonable time is a question of fact. (b) In a transaction other than a consumer transaction, a notification of disposition sent after default and ten days or more before the earliest time of disposition set forth in the notification is sent within a reasonable time before the disposition. History: 1978 Comp., § 55-9-612, enacted by Laws 2001, ch. 139, § 109.OFFICIAL COMMENTS UCC Official Comments by ALI & the NCCUSL. Reproduced with permission of the PEB for the UCC. All rights reserved. 1. Source. New. 2. Reasonable Notification. Section 9-611(b) requires the secured party to send a 'reasonable signed notification.' Under that section, as under pre-1998 Section 9-504(3), one aspect of a reasonable notification is its timeliness. This generally means that the notification must be sent at a reasonable time in advance of the date of a public disposition or the date after which a private disposition is to be made. A notification that is sent so near to the disposition date that a notified person could not be expected to act on or take account of the notification would be

ch a private disposition is to be made. A notification that is sent so near to the disposition date that a notified person could not be expected to act on or take account of the notification would be unreasonable.3. Timeliness of Notification: Safe Harbor. The 10-day notice period in subsection (b) is intended to be a 'safe harbor' and not a minimum requirement. To qualify for the 'safe harbor' the notification must be sent after default. A notification also must be sent in a commercially reasonable manner. See Section 9-611(b) ('reasonable signed notification'). These requirements prevent a secured party from taking advantage of the 'safe harbor' by, for example, giving the debtor a notification at the time of the original extension of credit or sending the notice by surface mail to a debtor overseas.ANNOTATIONSEffective dates. — Laws 2001, ch. 139, § 155 makes the act effective July 1, 2001.