CHAPTER 1. FENCING ASSOCIATIONS
IC 32-26
ARTICLE 26. FENCES
IC 32-26-1
Chapter 1. Fencing Associations
IC 32-26-1-1
Enclosure of lands; articles of association
Sec. 1. (a) Five (5) or more persons may form a fencing
association if the persons are interested in:
(1) enclosing land with one (1) general fence; or
(2) doing any other work necessary to protect land and to secure
crops raised on land.
(b) The enclosed land described in subsection (a) must be:
(1) improved land;
(2) used for purposes of cultivation; and
(3) situated in an area that is:
(A) definitely described by sections or subdivisions of
sections; or
(B) sufficiently described by metes and bounds, and on or
near any stream, watercourse, lake, pond, or marsh, and
subject to overflow from any stream, watercourse, lake,
pond, or marsh.
(c) The association shall adopt and subscribe articles, which must
specify the name and objects of the association.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-2
Notice of election of directors
Sec. 2. (a) Three (3) or more members of the association may give
notice of an election to choose directors for the association.
(b) The notices must:
(1) be written or printed;
(2) specify the time and location of the election; and
(3) be posted for at least ten (10) days before the election in at
least five (5) public places in each township where the
contemplated work will occur.
(c) The location of the election must be near the contemplated
work.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-3
Election of directors
Sec. 3. At the election, at least five (5) of the association members
shall elect by ballot at least three (3) but not more than seven (7)
association members as directors of the association.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-4
Articles of association; recording
Sec. 4. (a) After the election of directors, the association shall
record articles of association in the office of the recorder of the
county where the proposed fence will be located.
(b) The articles must specify the following:
(1) The name and objects of the association.
(2) The names of the association's officers for the first year.
(3) The character of the work proposed.
(4) The location where the fence is to be located.
(c) After recording the articles of association, the association is a
body corporate and politic by the name and style adopted, with all
the rights, incidents, and liabilities of bodies corporate.
(d) Any person owning land in the area may at any time become
a member of the association by signing the articles of association.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-5
Petition; viewers; examination and apportionment of assessments
Sec. 5. (a) The board of directors shall petition the board of
commissioners of the county where the fence is to be located.
(b) The petition must do the following:
(1) Be signed by the owners of the major part of the improved
land.
(2) Give a full description of the contemplated work, specifying
particularly:
(A) the points of beginning and ending of the work;
(B) the course and distances of the work;
(C) the manner and character of the gates to be placed on all
public highways crossed;
(D) the nature and character of the improvement;
(E) a detailed statement of the projected cost, as accurately
as the projected cost can conveniently be stated; and
(F) the description of the area to be enclosed.
(3) Request the appointment of viewers to view and apportion
among the owners of real estate in the area the cost of the
improvement, and all expenses that:
(A) are incurred procuring the improvement; and
(B) are considered to be necessary in maintaining the
improvement for one (1) year after the completion of the
fence.
(c) The apportionment of the cost and expenses incurred under
this chapter must be made according to the number of acres of land
owned by each landowner that is improved and used for the purposes
of cultivation, as described in section 6 of this chapter.
(d) The board of commissioners, on proof that the signers of the
petition own the major part of the improved land in the area, shall
hear and consider the petition. If the board of commissioners decides
the improvement is a public utility and is in the best interests of the
owners of the lands in the area, the board of commissioners shall
appoint three (3) viewers.
(e) The viewers, who may not be members of the association or
interested in the proposed work, shall make the apportionments
described in subsection (b)(3) among the landowners.
(f) The viewers shall be furnished:
(1) a copy of the plan and profile of the proposed work; and
(2) a certified copy of the order of the board of commissioners
for their appointment.
(g) The viewers shall meet at a time and place in the area to make
the apportionment as fixed by the board of commissioners.
(h) Before the apportionment begins, the owners of improved land
in the area are entitled to notice of the time when and place where the
viewers will begin the examination of lands and the apportionment
of assessments by written or printed notices posted at the door of the
courthouse of the county and five (5) public places in the area.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-6
Assessments; costs and expenses of improvements
Sec. 6. (a) At the time and place named by the board of
commissioners and fixed by the notices, the appointed viewers shall
do the following:
(1) Meet and inspect the lands improved and used for
cultivation in the area.
(2) Assess against the owners of the improved land the costs
and expenses of the improvement. The costs and expenses shall
be apportioned among them severally, according to the number
of acres of improved land owned by each owner.
(3) Hear and determine any complaints at that time regarding
the assessment.
(b) The appointed viewers have the authority to:
(1) hear evidence;
(2) swear and examine witnesses;
(3) reexamine any lands;
(4) cause surveys and measurements to be made; and
(5) adjourn periodically until the viewers complete the
apportionment of assessments.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-7
Viewers' report and assessments
Sec. 7. (a) The appointed viewers, after having completed their
apportionment, shall submit a written report of their work to the
board of commissioners, together with a tabular statement of the
assessments made.
(b) The directors of the association shall record the written report
by the appointed viewers in the office of the recorder of the county.
(c) From the recording date of the written report, the assessments
in the written report shall be respectively a lien on each tract of land
described in the written report for the amount assessed to the tract.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-8
Annual assessments
Sec. 8. (a) The board of directors may make annual assessments
after the first assessment for the purpose of repairing and maintaining
the improvement and for other necessary expenses.
(b) The board of directors shall apportion the annual assessments
among the owners and file a tabular statement of the apportionment
and assessment in the recorder's office.
(c) The tabular statement of the apportionment and assessment is
a lien on the tracts of land respectively assessed and may be collected
in the same manner as the original assessment.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-9
Fences erected before present law
Sec. 9. (a) If the owners of land have, under or by virtue of any
law of Indiana or by mutual consent, erected a fence before March
14, 1877, as described in this chapter, the landowners may:
(1) organize an association according to the provisions of this
chapter;
(2) file their articles of association in the office of the recorder;
and
(3) petition the board of commissioners as provided in
subsection (b).
(b) The petition must show that:
(1) the fence was built before March 14, 1877; and
(2) the goal of the organization is to maintain the fence in good
order and repair, as though built under this chapter.
(c) The board of commissioners shall consider the petition. If the
board of commissioners is satisfied that:
(1) the owners of the major part of the land improved and used
for the purposes of cultivation enclosed by the fence signed the
petition; and
(2) the maintenance of the improvement is of public utility and
for the best interests of the owners of the land in the area;
the board of commissioners shall make an order allowing the board
of directors of the association to make assessments for that purpose,
as provided in section 8 of this chapter.
(d) After the directors of the association follow the steps provided
in section 8 of this chapter, the association is a body corporate and
politic, as though originally organized under this chapter, and has all
the rights and powers granted in this chapter.
(e) All liens that then exist in favor of any creditor that financed
the improvement, or against any lands on account of the
improvement, shall be preserved and may be enforced, either
according to the law under which the liens were created or according
to this chapter.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-10
Officers of fencing association
Sec. 10. (a) The board of directors shall appoint a president,
secretary, and treasurer.
(b) The treasurer shall give a bond:
(1) sufficient in penalties and securities;
(2) payable to the association by its corporate name; and
(3) conditioned for:
(A) the faithful discharge of the treasurer's duties; and
(B) the safekeeping and prompt payment, according to the
order of the board of directors, of all money accessible to the
treasurer.
(c) A majority of the board of directors is a quorum for the
transaction of business.
(d) Previous notice of any regular or adjourned meeting of the
directors is not necessary.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-11
Vacancy in office of director
Sec. 11. If a vacancy occurs in the office of director, the other
members of the board shall fill the vacancy by a pro tempore
appointment from the members of the association. The appointment
continues until the next annual election and until a successor is
elected and qualified.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-12
Officers of association; term of office
Sec. 12. The president, secretary, and treasurer continue in office
for one (1) year and until their successors in office are elected and
qualified.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-13
Money drawn by treasurer
Sec. 13. The treasurer may not draw money, except upon the order
of the president and secretary.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-14
Treasurer; presenting vouchers and settling with board
Sec. 14. Each year, before the expiration of the treasurer's term,
and more often if the board of directors requires, the treasurer shall
present the treasurer's vouchers and settle with the board.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-15
Supplemental assessments
Sec. 15. (a) If the board of directors finds that any lands that will
be affected by the proposed work have been omitted from the
assessment or that any mistake has occurred in the assessment, the
board may order a supplemental assessment for the correction of
mistakes.
(b) The owners of all lands directly affected by the supplemental
assessment shall have notice of the time and place of making the
supplemental assessment and of a time when and place where the
owners may be heard regarding the supplemental assessment in the
same manner as in respect to the original assessment.
(c) The supplemental assessment, when completed, shall be filed
for record in the same manner as the original assessment.
(d) The supplemental assessment shall, from that date, be a lien
on the lands described in the supplemental assessment in like manner
as the original assessment.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-16
Assessments; installment payments
Sec. 16. The board of directors may, without reference to the
completion of the proposed work, order:
(1) the payment of the assessment in installments as it considers
proper; or
(2) the payment in full at a stated time.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-17
Assessments; enforcing payment
Sec. 17. Payment of the assessments may be enforced by suit in
any court with jurisdiction as for ordinary debts or by the foreclosure
of the lien in any court with jurisdiction in the same manner as is
provided by law for the foreclosure of mortgages and the sale of
mortgaged premises for the collection of debts.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-18
Proposed work; contracts; advertisements
Sec. 18. (a) The proposed work shall be awarded by the board of
directors by contract to the lowest responsible bidder, after suitable
advertisements, as a whole or in sections or subdivisions as the board
considers most advantageous.
(b) The board of directors may purchase any fence built along the
line of the proposed fence and use the fence instead of building new
fencing.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-19
Appropriation of land; assessment of damages
Sec. 19. If the association wishes to appropriate any land for the
construction or maintenance of any work, the association must
proceed in the manner required by law for the assessment of like
damages in case of the construction of railroads or other similar
works.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-20
Incorrect or imperfect description of proposed work
Sec. 20. Every association organized under this chapter with the
concurrence of three-fourths (3/4) of its members, expressed by
resolution at any regular meeting of the association, may:
(1) correct or perfect any incorrect or imperfect description of
the proposed work; or
(2) provide for the extension of the proposed work beyond the
limits prescribed in the original articles of the association.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-21
Limitation of actions to enforce assessment
Sec. 21. An association may not commence an action to enforce
any lien upon land for assessments made five (5) years after the date
of recording the schedule of the assessment constituting a lien, as
contemplated by this chapter. Any assessment made under any
former law of Indiana upon the same subject, when action is not
pending for the enforcement of the assessment, is prima facie
satisfied upon the record five (5) years after the recording of the
schedule of the assessment.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-22
Rules or regulations; powers of fencing association
Sec. 22. The association may pass any rules and impose
reasonable fines and penalties to insure the success of the object of
the association's incorporation. The association may:
(1) employ individuals to keep the fence in repair;
(2) employ gatekeepers to attend to the gates on all public
highways;
(3) employ keepers of pounds to impound and care for all stock
found running at large in the area enclosed by the fence;
(4) make bylaws regulating:
(A) when stock may run at large in the enclosed area; and
(B) the number of cattle, horses, and swine each landowner
or occupant of lands in the enclosed area may be allowed to
permit to run at large.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-23
Throwing down common fence
Sec. 23. A person may not throw down the common fence. A
person who throws down a common fence shall pay to the
association at least five dollars ($5) but not more than twenty dollars
($20), recoverable before any court with jurisdiction. A person who
throws down a common fence is liable for all damages that accrue
because of the person's actions. Damages are recoverable under this
subsection in the same manner as a forfeiture.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-24
Permitting animals to run at large within enclosed area
Sec. 24. It is a Class C infraction for a person to allow the person's
stock to run at large in the enclosed area unless expressly permitted
to do so by the board of directors of the association. A person who
violates this section is liable to all persons whose lands are
trespassed upon for consequential damages.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.
IC 32-26-1-25
Stock roving within enclosed area
Sec. 25. (a) Any stock found roving about in the enclosed area
contrary to the laws or regulations of the association shall be taken
up and impounded at the expense of the owner. The poundkeeper
shall:
(1) if the owner is known, notify the owner, in writing, of the
impounding of the stock; or
(2) if the owner is unknown, post for ten (10) days a written or
printed description of the stock at the public gates of the
association and three (3) other public places in the township
where the fence is located.
(b) If, after the expiration of ten (10) days, the owner fails to
reclaim and pay the expenses of keeping and posting the stock and
the damages caused by the stock to any owner or occupant of land in
the area, the stock shall, upon ten (10) days further notice, be sold to
pay the expenses and damages.
(c) If, after payment for the stock, there is a remaining balance,
the balance shall be deposited in the treasury of the association for
the benefit of the owner. If no claim is made for the remaining
balance for six (6) months, it shall vest in the association.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.