(a)  Unless a written loan agreement provides otherwise, a museum may apply conservation or protective measures to, or dispose of, undocumented property or property on loan to the museum without the lender’s or claimant’s permission or formal notice if immediate action is required to protect the property on loan or other property in the custody of the museum, or because the property on loan has become a hazard to the health and safety of the public or to the museum’s staff, and if one of the following applies:

(1)  The property poses an immediate risk of harm to the museum’s staff or collection or to the general public, in which case the museum may dispose of the property without delay and shall notify the lender or claimant of the action taken within thirty (30) days; or

(2)  The museum is unable to contact the lender at the address on record for the lender within three (3) days before the time the museum determines action is necessary; or

(3)  The lender does not: (i) Respond or agree to the conservation or protective measures recommended by the museum; and (ii) Does not or is unable to terminate the loan and take possession of such property within the time the museum determines that action is necessary.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-7

  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Museum: means an organized and permanent nonprofit or public institution in Rhode Island operated by, or a division of, a nonprofit corporation, trust, association, educational institution, or public agency, that is primarily educational, scientific, historic, or aesthetic in purpose, and that owns, borrows, cares for, studies, archives, or exhibits property. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-1
  • Property: means any tangible object in the possession of and under a museum's care that has intrinsic educational, scientific, historical, artistic, aesthetic, or cultural value, excluding the property of any agency or public body as defined in Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-1

(b)  If a museum applies conservation or protective measures to any property on loan to the museum under this section, unless the written loan agreement for the property provides otherwise, the museum shall acquire a lien on the property in an amount equal to the costs incurred by the museum for any conservation or protective measures taken.

(c)  The museum shall not be liable for injury to or loss of any property that was on loan to the museum and for which conservation or protective measures were taken under this section, if the museum: (1) Had a reasonable belief at the time the conservation or protective measures were taken that such measures were necessary to protect the property or other property in the possession of the museum, or that the property was a hazard to the health and safety of the public or museum staff, and (2) Exercised reasonable care in the choice and application of the conservation and protective measures.

History of Section.
P.L. 2013, ch. 160, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 219, § 1.