(a) Unless there is a written loan agreement to the contrary, a museum may apply conservation measures to or dispose of property on loan to the museum without a lender’s permission if:
(1) Immediate action is required to protect the property on loan or to protect 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 of the museum’s staff, and:
(A) The museum is unable to reach the lender at the lender’s last address of record so that the museum and the lender can promptly agree upon a solution; or
(B) The lender will not agree to the protective measures the museum recommends, yet is unwilling or unable to terminate the loan and retrieve the property.
(2) In the case of a lender who cannot be contacted in person, the museum publishes a notice containing the information described in subdivision (a) of Section 1899.7 and there is no response for 120 days.
(b) If a museum applies conservation measures to or disposes of property pursuant to subdivision (a):
(1) The museum shall have a lien on the property and on the proceeds from any disposition thereof for the costs incurred by the museum; and
(2) The museum shall not be liable for injury to or loss of the property:
(A) If the museum had a reasonable belief at the time the action was taken that the action was necessary to protect the property on loan or other property in the custody of the museum, or that the property on loan constituted a hazard to the health and safety of the public or the museum’s staff; and
(B) If the museum applied conservation measures, the museum exercised reasonable care in the choice and application of the conservation measures.
(Added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 61, Sec. 1.)