Montana Code 61-3-106. Report of stolen and recovered motor vehicles — accessibility — insurance fraud and theft reporting — immunity
61-3-106. Report of stolen and recovered motor vehicles — accessibility — insurance fraud and theft reporting — immunity. (1) It is the duty of the sheriff of each county of the state and of the chief of police or commissioner of police of each city to make an immediate entry regarding each theft or recovery of a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile into the state automated stolen motor vehicle file maintained by the department on the state’s criminal justice information system. Failure on the part of any officer to make the immediate entry is considered malfeasance in office and constitutes grounds for removal. Upon entry of the information, the state’s criminal justice information system and the national crime information center must be allowed immediate access to the state automated stolen motor vehicle file. The department shall file reports of stolen and recovered motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, campers, motorboats, personal watercraft, sailboats, or snowmobiles reported to it from other states.
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-3-106
- Camper: means a structure designed to be mounted in the cargo area of a truck or attached to an incomplete vehicle for the purpose of providing shelter for persons. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Motor vehicle: means :
(i)a vehicle propelled by its own power and designed or used to transport persons or property on the highways of the state;
(ii)a quadricycle if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9; or
(iii)a golf cart only if it is equipped for use on the highways as prescribed in chapter 9 and is operated pursuant to 61-8-391 or by a person with a low-speed restricted driver's license. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Motorboat: means a vessel, including a personal watercraft or pontoon, propelled by any machinery, motor, or engine of any description, whether or not the machinery, motor, or engine is the principal source of propulsion. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Peace officer: has the meaning as defined in 46-1-202. See Montana Code 1-1-207
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Personal watercraft: means a vessel that uses an outboard motor or an inboard engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than by the conventional method of sitting or standing in the vessel. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Pole trailer: means a vehicle without power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach or pole or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable generally of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Sailboat: means a vessel that uses a sail and wind as its primary source of propulsion. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Semitrailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that some part of its weight and that of its load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Snowmobile: means a self-propelled vehicle of an overall width of 48 inches or less, excluding accessories, that is designed primarily for travel on snow or ice, that may be steered by skis or runners, and that is not otherwise registered or licensed under the laws of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
- Trailer: means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101
(2)The state automated stolen motor vehicle file must be made available to the secretary of state or other proper official in each state of the United States through access to the national crime information center.
(3)Upon written request to an insurer by an authorized governmental agency or upon an insurer’s own initiative to notify a specific lienholder, an insurer or an agent authorized by an insurer to act on its behalf shall release to the requesting agency or lienholder relevant information in the insurer’s possession relating to any specific motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile theft or motor vehicle insurance fraud.
(4)(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, information furnished pursuant to this section is privileged and may not become part of a public record. The evidence or information is not subject to a subpoena duces tecum in a civil or criminal proceeding unless the court determines after reasonable notice to the parties listed in subsection (4)(b) and a hearing that the public interest and any ongoing investigation by the parties listed in subsection (4)(b) will not be jeopardized by compliance with the subpoena duces tecum.
(b)The notice required by subsection (4)(a) must be sent to an insurer, an agent authorized by an insurer to act on its behalf, an authorized governmental agency that has an interest in the information, and a specific lienholder.
(5)An authorized governmental agency provided with information pursuant to this section may release or provide the information to any other authorized governmental agency.
(6)An insurer, an agent authorized by an insurer to act on its behalf, or an employee of an insurer or agent is not subject to civil or criminal liability in any cause of action for releasing or receiving information under this section.
(7)As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)”Authorized governmental agency” means:
(i)any constituted criminal investigative department or agency of the United States;
(ii)the state department of justice;
(iii)the state auditor’s office;
(iv)a peace officer of the state or a political subdivision of the state; or
(v)a prosecuting attorney of any state, of any political subdivision of any state, or of the United States or any district of the United States.
(b)”Relevant information” includes but is not limited to:
(i)insurance policy information related to any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile theft or motor vehicle insurance fraud under investigation, including an application for a policy;
(ii)available policy premium payment records;
(iii)the history of previous claims made by the insured; and
(iv)information relating to the investigation of any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile theft or motor vehicle insurance fraud, including statements of any person, proof of loss and notice of loss, and any information that an insurer knows or reasonably believes reveals or may reveal the identity of a person who it has reason to believe committed a criminal or fraudulent act relating to a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile theft or motor vehicle insurance claim or has knowledge of an act that has not been reported to an authorized governmental agency.
(c)”Specific lienholder” means a person or firm that holds a security interest in a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile involved in a specific motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat, or snowmobile theft or motor vehicle insurance fraud.