§ 44A-2. Persons entitled to lien on personal property.
§ 44A‑2. Personsentitled to lien on personal property.
(a) Any person whotows, alters, repairs, stores, services, treats, or improves personal propertyother than a motor vehicle or an aircraft in the ordinary course of hisbusiness pursuant to an express or implied contract with an owner or legalpossessor of the personal property has a lien upon the property. The amount ofthe lien shall be the lesser of
(1) The reasonablecharges for the services and materials; or
(2) The contract price;or
(3) One hundred dollars($100.00) if the lienor has dealt with a legal possessor who is not an owner.
This lien shall have priorityover perfected and unperfected security interests.
(b) Any person engagedin the business of operating a hotel, motel, or boardinghouse has a lien uponall baggage, vehicles and other personal property brought upon his premises bya guest or boarder who is an owner thereof to the extent of reasonable chargesfor the room, accommodations and other items or services furnished at the requestof the guest or boarder. This lien shall not have priority over any securityinterest in the property which is perfected at the time the guest or boarderbrings the property to said hotel, motel or boardinghouse.
(c) Any person engagedin the business of boarding animals has a lien on the animals boarded forreasonable charges for such boarding which are contracted for with an owner orlegal possessor of the animal. This lien shall have priority over perfected andunperfected security interests.
(d) Any person whorepairs, services, tows, or stores motor vehicles in the ordinary course of theperson's business pursuant to an express or implied contract with an owner orlegal possessor of the motor vehicle, except for a motor vehicle seizedpursuant to G.S. 20‑28.3, has a lien upon the motor vehicle forreasonable charges for such repairs, servicing, towing, storing, or for therental of one or more substitute vehicles provided during the repair,servicing, or storage. This lien shall have priority over perfected andunperfected security interests. Payment for towing and storing a motor vehicleseized pursuant to G.S. 20‑28.3 shall be as provided for in G.S. 20‑28.2through G.S. 20‑28.5.
(e) Any lessor ofnonresidential demised premises has a lien on all furniture, furnishings, tradefixtures, equipment and other personal property to which the tenant has legaltitle and which remains on the demised premises if (i) the tenant has vacatedthe premises for 21 or more days after the paid rental period has expired, and(ii) the lessor has a lawful claim for damages against the tenant. If thetenant has vacated the premises for 21 or more days after the expiration of thepaid rental period, or if the lessor has received a judgment for possession ofthe premises which is executable and the tenant has vacated the premises, thenall property remaining on the premises may be removed and placed in storage. Ifthe total value of all property remaining on the premises is less than onehundred dollars ($100.00), then it shall be deemed abandoned five days afterthe tenant has vacated the premises, and the lessor may remove it and maydonate it to any charitable institution or organization. Provided, the lessorshall not have a lien if there is an agreement between the lessor or his agentand the tenant that the lessor shall not have a lien. This lien shall be forthe amount of any rents which were due the lessor at the time the tenantvacated the premises and for the time, up to 60 days, from the vacating of thepremises to the date of sale; and for any sums necessary to repair damages tothe premises caused by the tenant, normal wear and tear excepted; and forreasonable costs and expenses of sale. The lien created by this subsectionshall be enforced by sale at public sale pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 44A‑4(e).This lien shall not have priority over any security interest in the propertywhich is perfected at the time the lessor acquires this lien.
(e1) This Article shallnot apply to liens created by storage of personal property at a self‑servicestorage facility.
(e2) Any lessor of aspace for a manufactured home as defined in G.S. 143‑143.9(6) has a lienon all furniture, furnishings, and other personal property including themanufactured home titled in the name of the tenant if (i) the manufactured homeremains on the demised premises 21 days after the lessor is placed in lawfulpossession by writ of possession and (ii) the lessor has a lawful claim fordamages against the tenant. If the lessor has received a judgment forpossession of the premises which has been executed, then all property remainingon the premises may be removed and placed in storage. Prior to the expirationof the 21‑day period, the landlord shall release possession of thepersonal property and manufactured home to the tenant during regular businesshours or at a time mutually agreed upon. This lien shall be for the amount ofany rents which were due the lessor at the time the tenant vacated the premisesand for the time, up to 60 days, from the vacating of the premises to the dateof sale; and for any sums necessary to repair damages to the premises caused bythe tenant, normal wear and tear excepted; and for reasonable costs andexpenses of the sale. The lien created by this subsection shall be enforced bypublic sale under G.S. 44A‑4(e). The landlord may begin the advertisementfor sale process immediately upon execution of the writ of possession by thesheriff, but may not conduct the sale until the lien has attached. This lienshall not have any priority over any security interest in the property that isperfected at the time the lessor acquires this lien. The lessor shall not havea lien under this subsection if there is an agreement between the lessor or thelessor's agent and the tenant that the lessor shall not have a lien.
(f) Any person whoimproves any textile goods in the ordinary course of his business pursuant toan express or implied contract with the owner or legal possessor of such goodsshall have a lien upon all goods of such owner or possessor in his possessionfor improvement. The amount of such lien shall be for the entire unpaidcontracted charges owed such person for improvement of said goods including anyamount owed for improvement of goods, the possession of which may have been relinquished,and such lien shall have priority over perfected and unperfected securityinterests. "Goods" as used herein includes any textile goods, yarnsor products of natural or man‑made fibers or combination thereof."Improve" as used herein shall be construed to include processing,fabricating or treating by throwing, spinning, knitting, dyeing, finishing,fabricating or otherwise.
(g) Any person whofabricates, casts, or otherwise makes a mold or who uses a mold to manufacture,assemble, or otherwise make a product pursuant to an express or impliedcontract with the owner of such mold shall have a lien upon the mold. For alien to arise under this subsection, there must exist written evidence that theparties understood that a lien could be applied against the mold, with theevidence being in the form either of a written contract or a separate writtenstatement provided by the potential holder of the lien under this subsection tothe owner of the mold prior to the fabrication or use of the mold. The writtencontract or separate written statement must describe generally the amount ofthe potential lien as set forth in this subsection. The amount of the lienunder this subsection shall equal the total of (i) any unpaid contractedcharges due from the owner of the mold for making the mold, plus (ii) anyunpaid contracted charges for all products made with the mold. The lien underthis subsection shall not have priority over any security interest in the moldwhich is perfected at the time the person acquires this lien. As used in thissubsection, the word "mold" shall include a mold, die, form, orpattern. (1967,c. 1029, s. 1; 1971, cc. 261, 403; c. 544, s. 1; c. 1197; 1973, c. 1298, s. 1;1975, c. 461; 1981, c. 566, s. 2; c. 682, s. 9; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c.1275, s. 2; 1995, c. 460, s. 9; c. 480, s. 1; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 744,s. 1; 1998‑182, s. 14; 1999‑278, s. 5; 2006‑222, s. 1.2.)