(a) It is an offense for a scrap metal dealer to pay cash to a person who presents an air conditioner evaporator coil or condenser, in whole or in part, for sale as scrap or for the dealer to make payment of any kind at the time of the transaction.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 62-9-107

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or any other legally cognizable organization or entity. See Tennessee Code 62-9-101
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Scrap metal: means any ferrous or nonferrous metal that is no longer used for its original purpose and is capable of being processed for reuse by a metal recycling facility, including, but not limited to, iron, brass, wire, cable, copper, bronze, aluminum, platinum, lead, solder, steel, stainless steel, catalytic converters or other similar obsolete ferrous or nonferrous metals, but shall not include recyclable aluminum cans. See Tennessee Code 62-9-101
  • Scrap metal dealer: means a person who buys, exchanges or deals in scrap metal or an employee or agent of that dealer who has the express or implied authority to buy, exchange or deal in scrap metal on behalf of the dealer. See Tennessee Code 62-9-101
(b) Scrap metal described in subsection (a) may only be sold for scrap by an authorized agent, representative or employee of one of the following:

(1) A licensed HVAC contractor who acquired the evaporator coil or condenser in the performance of contracting as defined in § 62-6-102;
(2) In a jurisdiction exempt from the requirements of title 68, chapter 120, pursuant to § 68-120-101, a company meeting all local or municipal requirements to obtain a permit from that jurisdiction to repair, replace and install HVAC units containing copper evaporator coils or condensers;
(3) In a jurisdiction exempt from the requirements of title 68, chapter 120, pursuant to § 68-120-101, where the exempt jurisdiction does not require a permit to repair, replace and install HVAC units containing copper evaporator coils or condensers, a company holding a current business tax license, with a Class 4 classification, or a current sales tax identification number indicating the business as that of an HVAC installer or repairer; or
(4) In a jurisdiction not exempt from the requirements of title 68, chapter 120, a company holding a current business tax license, with a Class 4 classification, or a current sales tax identification number indicating the business as that of an HVAC installer or repairer.
(c) The person offering the air conditioner evaporator coil or condenser for sale as scrap shall have in the person’s possession documentation that the company for whom it is being sold is a company described in subsection (b), and that the person selling the evaporator coil or condenser is an authorized agent, representative or employee of that company.
(d) Payment for scrap metal described in subsection (a) must be made by check or money order, mailed to the business address of the company for whom the metal is being sold and the name of the company must be the payee on the check.
(e)

(1) A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by fine only.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a person violating this section from also being prosecuted for any applicable criminal offense.