§ 34-42-4 - Enforcement of owner's lien.
SECTION 34-42-4
§ 34-42-4 Enforcement of owner's lien.– (a) After default, an owner may deny an occupant access to the storage space,terminate the right of the occupant to use the storage space, enter the storagespace and remove any personal property found therein to a place of safekeeping,and enforce its lien by selling the stored property at a public or privatesale, in accordance with the following procedure:
(1) No sooner than thirty (30) days after default, but beforethe owner takes any action to enforce its lien, the occupant and all otherpersons known to claim an interest in the personal property stored shall benotified. The notice shall be delivered in person or sent by certified mail,return receipt requested, to the person or persons to be notified. The noticeshall include: (A) an itemized statement of the claim showing the sums due atthe time of the notice and the date when the sums became due; (B) a statementthat, based on the default, the owner has the right to deny the occupant accessto the leased space; (C) a general description of the personal property subjectto the lien if known; (D) a demand for payment of the claim by a specified datenot less than thirty (30) days after mailing of the notice; (E) a conspicuousstatement that unless the claim is paid by the specified date, the occupant'sright to use the storage space will terminate, and the personal property willbe advertised for sale or will be otherwise disposed of at a specified time andplace; and (F) the name, street address, and telephone number of the owner whothe occupant may contact to respond to the notice.
(2) If the owner is not able to obtain personal service onthose persons entitled to notice or if the certified mail return receipt is notsigned by the person to whom notice must be sent then the owner shall berequired to give notice by publication once a week for three (3) successiveweeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town where theperson to receive the notice was last known to reside.
(3) When notice is by publication, the notice does not haveto include an itemized statement of the claim but only a statement as to theamount of money due or the time of the final notice, nor is a generaldescription of the personal property subject to the lien required. The demandfor payment of the claim by a specified date shall set forth a date no lessthan thirty (30) days after the date of the published notice.
(b) Once notice is sent to an occupant, the owner may denythe occupant access to the leased space in a reasonable and peaceful manner;provided, however, that the occupant may have access at any time for the solepurpose of viewing the contents of his or her leased space to verify thecontents thereof.
(c) After expiration of the time given in the notice, if theclaim has not been paid in full as demanded, the occupant's right to use thestorage space terminates, and the owner may enter the storage space and removeany personal property found therein to a place of safekeeping.
(d) After expiration of the time given in the notice, if theclaim has not been paid in full as demanded and the owner wishes to sell thepersonal property to satisfy its lien, an advertisement of the sale must bepublished once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of generalcirculation where the sale is to be held. The advertisement must include ageneral description of the personal property, the name of the person on whoseaccount it is being stored and the time and place of sale. The sale must takeplace no sooner than ten (10) days after the first publication. If there is nonewspaper of general circulation where the sale is to be held, theadvertisement must be posted at least ten (10) days before the sale in not lessthan six (6) conspicuous places in the neighborhood of the proposed sale.
(e) The sale shall be held at the self-service storagefacility or the nearest suitable place and it shall conform to the terms of thenotification.
(f) Before a sale of personal property, any person claiming aright to the personal property may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lienand the reasonable expenses incurred by the owner to redeem the personalproperty. Upon receipt of this payment, the owner shall release the personalproperty to the payor and have no further liability to any person with respectto the personal property.
(g) The owner may buy at any sale of personal propertypursuant to this section to enforce the owner's lien.
(h) A purchaser in good faith of the personal property soldto enforce the owner's lien takes the personal property free of any rights ofpersons against whom the lien was valid, despite noncompliance by the ownerwith the requirements of this section.
(i) The owner may satisfy its lien from the proceeds of anysale pursuant to this section but must hold the balance, if any, for deliveryon demand to any person to whom it would have been bound to deliver thepersonal property. If the other party does not claim the balance of theproceeds within two (2) years of the date of the sale, it shall eschew to thestate.
(j) The owner shall be liable for damages caused by failureto comply with the requirements for sale under this section and in case ofwillful violation is liable for conversion.