Title 29, Mortgages and Other Liens

When the amount of the claim does not exceed one hundred dollars the lien may be enforced by a petition to a magistrate. And such magistrate shall have like power and authority within his jurisdiction as herein conferred upon the court of common pleas, with like rights of appeal …

The lien may be enforced by petition to the court of common pleas for the county in which the building or structure is situated. The petition may be filed in term or in the clerk's office in vacation and the date of the filing shall be deemed the commencement of the suit.

(A) To file a mechanics' lien, a contractor must provide the county clerk of court or register of deeds proof that he is licensed or registered if he is required by law to be licensed or registered. As proof of licensure or registration, the contractor must record his contractor …

The petition may be served with the summons or filed with the clerk and shall be returned and entered as other civil cases.

The petition shall contain a brief statement of the contract on which it is founded and of the amount due thereon, with a description of the premises subject to the lien and all other material facts and circumstances, and shall pray that the premises may be sold and the proceeds …

Any number of persons who have actually performed labor or furnished labor or materials on one or more buildings or structures upon different lots of land, when the labor was performed for the same owner, contractor or other person, may join in the same petition for their respect…

The court may at any time allow either party to amend his pleadings as in other civil actions.

The court in which the petition is entered shall order notice to be given to the owner of the building or structure, that he may appear and answer thereto at a certain day in the same term or at the next term, by serving him with an attested copy of the petition, with the order o…

(A) Every laborer, mechanic, subcontractor, or person furnishing material for the improvement of real estate when the improvement has been authorized by the owner has a lien thereon, subject to existing liens of which he has actual or constructive notice, to the value of the labo…

If it appears to the court that any of the parties entitled to notice are absent or that they cannot probably be found or be served with the notice, the court may, instead of the personal notice before mentioned or in addition thereto, order notice given to all persons interested…

(A) A surveyor who surveys real estate by virtue of an agreement with the owner of such real estate has furnished material for the improvement of real estate within the meaning of Section 29-5-20. (B)(1) A real estate licensee who, by virtue of a written agreement with the owner,…

If at the time assigned for the hearing it appears to the court that any of the persons interested had not had a sufficient notice of the suit, the court may order further notice to them in such manner as may be considered most proper and effectual.

A person who supplies tools, appliances, machinery, or equipment used as provided in Section 29-5-10(a) is considered to have furnished material for the improvement of real estate within the meaning of Sections 29-5-20 and 29-5-40 to the extent of the reasonable rental value of t…

At the time assigned for the hearing, or within such further time as the court allows for that purpose, every creditor having a lien of the kind before mentioned upon the same property may appear and prove his claim and the owner and each of the creditors may contest the several …

Any person entering into a direct agreement with, or with the consent of, an owner for the improvement of real property may file with the clerk of court or register of deeds in the county or counties where the real property is situate a notice of project commencement. The notice …

Every material question of fact arising in the case shall be submitted to a jury, if required by either party or deemed proper by the court, and the trial shall be had upon a question stated or an issue framed or otherwise, as the court may order. A jury shall be had before a mag…

The court shall ascertain and determine the amount due to each creditor who has a lien of the kind before mentioned upon the property in question and every such claim due, absolutely and without any condition, although not then payable, shall be allowed with a rebate of interest …

Any person providing private security guard services at the site of the real estate during its improvement shall be deemed to be a laborer within the meaning of SECTIONS 29-5-20 and 29-5-40. "Person" as used in this section shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, pro…

When the owner fails to perform his part of the contract and by reason thereof the other party, without his own default, is prevented from completely performing his part, he shall be entitled to a reasonable compensation for as much as he has performed in proportion to the price …

(A) A person who provides a landscape service on a parcel of real estate, which service exceeds five thousand dollars, by virtue of a written agreement with the owner of the real estate and to whom a debt is due for his performance of the landscaping service has a mechanics' lien…

If the lien is established in favor of any of the creditors whose claims are presented the court shall order a sale of the property to be made by such officer as may be authorized by law to make sales of property.

Any person providing construction and demolition debris disposal services, as defined in Section 44-96-40(6), including, but not limited to, final disposal services provided by a construction and demolition landfill, is a laborer within the meaning of Sections 29-5-20 and 29-5-40…

If part of the property can be separated from the residue and sold without damage to the whole and if the value thereof is sufficient to satisfy all debts proved in the case, the court may order a sale of that part, if it appears to be most for the interest of all parties concern…

The officer who makes the sale shall give notice of the time and place in the manner prescribed in relation to the sale of mortgaged lands under foreclosure, unless the court orders a different notice to be given.

If all the claims against the property covered by the lien are ascertained at the time of ordering the sale, the court may order the officer to pay over and distribute the proceeds of the sale, after deducting all lawful charges and expenses, to and among the several creditors to…

If the person for whom the work is done or materials are furnished has an estate for life or any other estate less than a fee simple in the land or if the property, at the time of recording the statement, is mortgaged or under any other encumbrance, the lien before provided for s…

If all the claims are not ascertained when the sale is ordered or if for any other reason the court finds it necessary or proper to postpone the order of distribution, it may direct the officer to bring the proceeds of the sale into court, there to be disposed of according to the…

If there remain any surplus of the proceeds of the sale, after making all the payments before mentioned, it shall be forthwith paid over to the owner of the property, but such surplus, before it is so paid over, shall be liable to be attached or taken on execution in like manner …

If the interest of the owner in the building, structure or land is under attachment at the time of filing and recording the statement of the account, the attaching creditor shall be preferred to the extent of the value of the buildings and land as they were when the statement was…

If the attaching creditor recovers judgment he shall be entitled to receive on his execution the proportion of the proceeds held subject to his attachment, or so much thereof as may be necessary to satisfy his execution, and the residue of the proceeds shall be applied in the sam…

If the interest of the owner of the property is attached after the recording of the statement, the proceeds, after discharging all prior liens and claims, shall be applied to satisfy the execution of such attaching creditor.

If an attachment is made after the recording of such statement and if, after the attachment, another like statement is recorded, the creditor in the latter statement shall be entitled to be paid only out of the residue of the proceeds remaining after paying all that is due on the…

When there are several attaching creditors, they shall, as between themselves, be entitled to be paid according to the order of their attachments. But when several creditors who are entitled to the lien provided for in this chapter have equal rights as between themselves and the …

If the person indebted dies or conveys away his estate or interest before the commencement of a suit on the contract, the suit may be commenced and prosecuted against his heirs or whoever holds the estate or interest which he had in the premises at the time the labor or materials…

If a creditor dies before the commencement of the suit, the suit may be commenced and prosecuted by his executor or administrator or, if commenced in his lifetime, it may be prosecuted by them as it might have been by the deceased, if living.

If it appears in any stage of the proceedings that the suit was commenced by the petitioning creditor before his right of action accrued or after it was barred or if he becomes nonsuited or fails to establish his claims the suit may be prosecuted by any other creditor having such…

Whenever work is done or material is furnished for the improvement of real estate upon the employment of a contractor or some other person than the owner and such laborer, mechanic, contractor or materialman shall in writing notify the owner of the furnishing of such labor or mat…

If the suit is commenced by the petitioning creditor before his right of action accrues, his claim may nevertheless be allowed if the suit is carried on by any other creditor, as provided in SECTION 29-5-390, but he shall not in such case be entitled to costs and he may be requir…

The costs, in all other respects, shall be subject to the discretion of the court and shall be paid from the proceeds of the sale or by any of the parties to the suit, as justice and equity require.

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a creditor in such contract from maintaining an action thereon in like manner as if he had no such lien for the security of his debt.

When a debt secured by such a lien is fully paid, the creditor, at the expense of the debtor, shall enter on the margin of the registry where the statement is recorded a discharge of his lien or shall execute a release thereof, which may be recorded where the statement is recorde…

Every person who has furnished labor, material, or rental equipment to a bonded contractor or its subcontractors in the prosecution of work provided for in any contract for construction, and who has not been paid in full therefor before the expiration of a period of ninety days a…

Any person claiming a lien under the provisions of this chapter who shall have given the notice provided for herein shall be entitled to be paid in preference to the contractor at whose instance the labor was performed or material furnished and no payment by the owner to the cont…

(A) In the event the amount due the contractor by the owner is insufficient to pay all the lienors acquiring liens as herein provided it is the duty of the owner to prorate among all just claims the amount due the contractor. (B) In the event the amount due a subcontractor by the…

Except as otherwise provided in Section 29-3-50, a lien claimed by any mechanic or materialman furnishing labor, services, or material is not enforceable against any mortgage recorded before the filing of the notice pursuant to Section 29-5-90 setting forth the statement of accou…

The owner of any such building or structure in process of erection or being altered or repaired, other than the person by whom or in whose behalf a contract for labor or materials has been made, may prevent the attaching of any lien for labor thereon not at the time performed or …