Rhode Island General Laws 34-27.2-2. Legislative findings
The general assembly finds and declares that the uniqueness of the construction industry requires a special system to ensure that payment is received by those businesses, contractors and owners who expend materials and/or labor prior to the completion of a construction project, but then must wait to be made financially compensated for the materials and/or labor. The general assembly also recognizes that once the materials and labor are placed into the building, or other construction project, it is impossible to reclaim the goods or services so that the only means of compensation is to receive monetary payment. In addition, the general assembly finds that the Comprehensive Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 expanded § 523(a) of the Uniform Code of chapter 13, and created a new section known as UC Bankruptcy Code 1328 that gives building material suppliers recourse when a contractor, “commits fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity.” Under the new UC Bankruptcy Code 1328, if any person commits fraud or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity, embezzlement, or larceny the debt is nondischargeable under chapter 7 (liquidation), chapter 11 (adjustment of debt) or chapter 13 (reorganization).
History of Section.
P.L. 2007, ch. 150, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 288, § 1.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 34-27.2-2
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC