8.7-210 - Enforcement of warehouseman's lien.
§ 8.7-210. Enforcement of warehouseman's lien.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a warehouseman's lien may beenforced by public or private sale of the goods in bloc or in parcels, at anytime or place and on any terms which are commercially reasonable, afternotifying all persons known to claim an interest in the goods. Suchnotification must include a statement of the amount due, the nature of theproposed sale and the time and place of any public sale. The fact that abetter price could have been obtained by a sale at a different time or in adifferent method from that selected by the warehouseman is not of itselfsufficient to establish that the sale was not made in a commerciallyreasonable manner. If the warehouseman either sells the goods in the usualmanner in any recognized market therefor, or sells at the price current insuch market at the time of his sale, or has otherwise sold in conformity withcommercially reasonable practices among dealers in the type of goods sold, hehas sold in a commercially reasonable manner. A sale of more goods thanapparently necessary to be offered to insure satisfaction of the obligationis not commercially reasonable except in cases covered by the precedingsentence.
(2) A warehouseman's lien on goods other than goods stored by a merchant inthe course of his business may be enforced only as follows:
(a) All persons known to claim an interest in the goods must be notified.
(b) The notification must include an itemized statement of the claim, adescription of the goods subject to the lien, a demand for payment within aspecified time not less than 10 days after receipt of the notification, and aconspicuous statement that unless the claim is paid within that time thegoods will be advertised for sale and sold by auction at a specified time andplace.
(c) The sale must conform to the terms of the notification.
(d) The sale must be held at the nearest suitable place to that where thegoods are held or stored.
(e) After the expiration of the time given in the notification, anadvertisement of the sale must be published once a week for two weeksconsecutively in a newspaper of general circulation where the sale is to beheld. The advertisement must include a description of the goods, the name ofthe person on whose account they are being held, and the time and place ofthe sale. The sale must take place at least 15 days after the firstpublication. If there is no newspaper of general circulation where the saleis to be held, the advertisement must be posted at least 10 days before thesale in not less than six conspicuous places in the neighborhood of theproposed sale.
(3) Before any sale pursuant to this section, any person claiming a right inthe goods may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lien and the reasonableexpenses incurred under this section. In that event, the goods must not besold, but must be retained by the warehouseman subject to the terms of thereceipt and this title.
(4) The warehouseman may buy at any public sale pursuant to this section.
(5) A purchaser in good faith of goods sold to enforce a warehouseman's lientakes the goods free of any rights of persons against whom the lien wasvalid, despite the warehouseman's noncompliance with the requirements of thissection.
(6) The warehouseman may satisfy his lien from the proceeds of any salepursuant to this section but must hold the balance, if any, for delivery ondemand to any person to whom he would have been bound to deliver the goods.
(7) The rights provided by this section shall be in addition to all otherrights allowed by law to a creditor against his debtor.
(8) Where a lien is on goods stored by a merchant in the course of hisbusiness, the lien may be enforced in accordance with either subsection (1)or (2).
(9) The warehouseman is liable for damages caused by failure to comply withthe requirements for sale under this section and, in case of willfulviolation, is liable for conversion.
(Code 1950, § 61-36; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.)