Title 85, Debtor-Creditor Relationship

If any person fails to claim any garment, clothing, wearing apparel, household goods or other article delivered to any laundry or dry cleaning establishment described in Sections 85-7-223 and 85-7-225 and displaying the notice described in Section 85-7-231, for a period of one hu…

(1) (a) No motor vehicle may be towed except by request of the owner of the motor vehicle, at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by request of a real property owner or the real property owner’s designee or assignee upon whose property the motor vehicle has been left.(b…

Unless otherwise expressly provided, the liens created or mentioned in this chapter shall exist by virtue of the relation of the parties, and without any writing, or if in writing, without recording; and the rights and liens conferred may be asserted and enforced by the assigns a…

All liens for erecting, constructing, altering, or repairing the same building, house, structure, fixture, boat, water craft, railroad, or railroad embankment shall be concurrent, and shall be paid in proportion out of the proceeds of the property when sold; and in case the sheri…

Justice courts shall have jurisdiction of cases arising under this chapter where the amount does not exceed the jurisdictional amount provided for in Section 9-11-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, and the proceedings shall be as nearly in accordance with the provisions of this chapter…

(1) Except where the context otherwise requires in subsection (2) of this section, as used in Sections 85-7-301 through 85-7-315, the term:(a) “Qualifying hospital” means any hospital designated as a burn center by the State Department of Health.(b) “Qualifying practice” means an…

(1) In order to perfect the lien provided for in Section 85-7-301, the operator of the qualifying hospital or qualifying practice:(a) Shall, not less than fifteen (15) days before the date of filing the statement required under paragraph (b) of this subsection, provide written no…

The clerk of the chancery court shall endorse the date and hour of filing on the statement filed under Section 85-7-303; and, at the expense of the county, the clerk shall provide a lien book with a proper index in which the clerk shall enter the date and hour of the filing; the …

(1) No release of the cause or causes of action or of any judgment thereon or any covenant not to bring an action thereon shall be valid or effectual against the lien created by Section 85-7-301 unless the holder thereof is given notification of the results of the cause of action…

(a) Sections 85-7-301 through 85-7-315 shall not apply to:(a) A cause of action filed by a person who received care, treatment or services from a qualifying hospital or a qualifying practice whose medical costs were paid by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.(b) Any m…

No settlement or release entered into or executed before the entry of the injured party into the qualifying hospital shall be affected by or subject to the terms of Sections 85-7-301 through 85-7-315.

Sections 85-7-301 through 85-7-315 shall not be construed to give any qualifying hospital or qualifying practice an independent right of action to determine liability for injuries sustained by a person or firm.

Any person who gives any false affidavit as provided by Section 85-7-307 commits the offense of perjury.

(a) The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Business day” means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.(b) “Contractor” means a contractor having privity of contract with the own…

(1) The following persons shall each have a special lien on the real estate or other property for which they furnish labor, services or materials:(a) All contractors, all subcontractors and all materialmen furnishing material for the improvement of real estate;(b) All registered …

(1) To make good a lien created in Section 85-7-403(1), it must be created and declared in accordance with the following provisions, and on failure of any of them the lien shall not be effective or enforceable:(a) A substantial compliance by the party claiming the lien with the p…

(1) Upon the written request of the property owner by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, the contractor shall furnish to the owner a complete list of all subcontractors and materialmen and upon written request from the contractor, all subcontractors sha…

(1) As to single-family residential construction only, payment made by or on behalf of the owner to a contractor or design professional in privity with the owner, for the work of a subcontractor, materialman, professional engineer or professional surveyor, shall be an absolute de…

(1) (a) When the building or improvement is erected under or by virtue of any contract with a lessee in possession, and the erection thereof is not in violation of the terms or conditions of the lease, the lien shall attach to the building or improvement, and to the unexpired ter…

(1) The special lien specified in Section 85-7-403(1) shall be dissolved and unenforceable if the owner, purchaser from owner, or lender providing construction or purchase money or any other loan secured by real estate shows that:(a) Payment or release of funds was made by the ow…

(1) When any person entitled under this article to claim a lien against any real estate located in this state files a lien in the office of the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which the real estate is located, the owner of the real estate or the contractor or subcont…

If services are performed or furnished with respect to any real estate by any design professional who is a member of a partnership or who is an agent or employee of a corporation or an association and the contract for the services is made for or on behalf of the owner with the pa…

(1) A right to claim a lien or to claim upon a bond may not be waived in advance of furnishing of labor, services or materials. Any purported waiver or release of lien, bond claim or this article executed or made in advance of furnishing labor, services or materials is null, void…

(1) Failure of a lien claimant to commence a payment action to collect the amount of his or her claim within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of filing the lien renders the claim of lien unenforceable. Any lien filed shall include on the face of the lien the following …

(1) An owner or an owner’s agent or attorney, or the contractor or contractor’s agent or attorney, may elect to shorten the time prescribed in which to commence a payment action to enforce any claim of lien by recording in the chancery clerk’s office a notice in substantially the…

The computation of time under this article shall be determined pursuant to Section 1-3-67.

(1) Judgments establishing the lien, and ordering the property sold for the satisfaction thereof, may be enforced by special writ of execution as set forth in Section 85-7-153. (2) The delivery of possession by the person claiming the lien shall not affect his lien.

(1) Any person who shall falsely and knowingly file the claim of lien provided in this article without just cause shall be liable to every party injured thereby for a penalty equal to three (3) times the full amount for which the claim was filed, to be recovered in an action by a…

Where a contractor gives a payment bond providing payment protection to subcontractors and material suppliers to the full extent provided by the Mississippi Little Miller Act found at Section 31-5-51 or the private project bond provision at Section 85-7-432, the payment bond shal…

(1) Any person entering into a formal contract for the construction, alteration, or repair of any private building or other private work, before entering into such contract, may furnish to the owner, bonds with good and sufficient surety in which case the bonds shall conform to t…

(1) The following form is the Interim Waiver and Release Upon Payment form referred to in Section 85-7-419:INTERIM WAIVER AND RELEASE UPON PAYMENTSTATE OF MISSISSIPPICOUNTY OF THE UNDERSIGNED MECHANIC AND/OR MATERIALMAN HAS BEEN EMPLOYED BY (NAME OF CONTRACTOR) TO FURNISH (DESCRI…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act.”

(a) As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Broker” means a real estate broker licensed pursuant to Section 73-35-3(1).(b) “Broker services” means services for which a license issued by the Mississippi Real Estate Commission is required under…

(1) A broker shall have a lien upon commercial real estate in the amount that the broker is due under a written agreement for broker services signed by the owner or signed by the owner’s duly authorized agent, if:(a) The broker has performed under the provisions of the agreement;…

A lien authorized by this article attaches to the commercial real estate only when the lien claimant files a timely notice of the lien in the office of the chancery clerk in the county in which the commercial real estate is located. A notice of lien is timely if it is filed after…

(1) A lien notice under this article shall be signed by the lien claimant and shall contain an attestation by the lien claimant that the information contained in the notice is true and accurate to the best of the lien claimant’s knowledge and belief. (2) The lien notice shall inc…

Any lien claimant who files a lien on commercial real estate under the provisions of this article shall mail a copy of the notice of the lien to the owner(s) of the commercial real estate by certified mail, return receipt requested, or shall serve a copy of the notice of the lien…

A lien claimant may bring suit to enforce a lien that attaches under the provisions of this article in any court of competent jurisdiction in the county where the commercial real estate is located. The lien claimant shall begin proceedings within one (1) year after filing the not…

(1) A complaint filed under the provisions of this article shall contain all of the following:(a) A statement of the terms of the written agreement for broker services on which the lien is based or a copy of the written contract or agreement;(b) The date when the written agreemen…

If a notice of lien has been filed with the chancery clerk and the claim has been paid in full or in part, or if a condition occurs that would preclude the lien claimant from receiving compensation, in whole or in part, under the terms of the written agreement for broker services…

The costs of any proceeding brought to enforce a lien filed under this article, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest due to the prevailing party, shall be paid by the nonprevailing party or parties. If more than one (1) party is responsible for costs, fee…

(a) Unless an alternative procedure is available and is acceptable to the transferee in a real estate transaction, any claim of lien on commercial real estate filed under this article may be discharged by any of the following methods:(a) The lien claimant of record, the claimant’…

Any broker who falsely and maliciously files or causes to be filed a notice of lien under this article that brings in question or disparages the title to property may be held liable in a civil action for damages, in which case damages shall be recoverable up to two (2) times the …

All deeds of trust or mortgages, all purchase money mortgages and all liens for ad valorem taxes, regardless of when recorded, and all other liens afforded priority by law or recorded before the recording of the broker’s lien provided by this article shall have priority over the …