Dumb Laws–To go out of business you need a permit in Thousand Oaks

This is the first of what we hope will be many installments of: Dumb Laws.  Dumb laws are created every day in our fair country.  Like malformed pancakes they are just thrown out on the pile whether they are pretty or not, or whether or not they make any sense and are cost-effective or even constitutional.

Now this one is actually a law concerning “Going Out Of Business” sales. You may say, well they just want to make certain that the business is really going–out of business–and not just saying they are going out of business to–get–business.  Really?  If someone really is closing their doors, the last thing they want to do is go to the city and pay for one more permit. Hence that is why this is a dumb law.

Law Summary

Before a business may have a “going out of business sale,” it must obtain a special permit from the city manager.

Full Text of the Law

Sec. 5-4.01. Permits: Required.

It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise, represent, or hold out that any sale of goods, wares, or merchandise is an insurance, bankruptcy, liquidation, mortgage, insolvent’s, assignee’s, executor’s, administrator’s, receiver’s, removal, or closing-out sale, or any particular department of such stock of goods, wares, or merchandise, under the guise of discontinuing business or discontinuing that particular department, or a sale of goods, wares, or merchandise damaged by fire, smoke, water, or otherwise, or a sale of goods from the stock of a bankrupt, receiver, trustee, insurance company, receivership, or trusteeship, or to conduct such sale unless he shall have first obtained a permit to conduct such sale from the City Manager. (It gets worse- read the whole thing!)

All we have to say: Good luck if you are going out of business in Thousand Oaks

If you happen upon a dumb law, please, send it our way.  We will never tell where it came from, cross our hearts. [email protected]