Property found and secured; compensation; lien; sale
Sec. 2. (a) A person who finds and secures any boats, fleets of
timber, rafts, platforms, sawlogs, or other logs or trees prepared for
the purpose of sale, or any cross or railroad ties, boards, planks,
staves, heading, or other timber prepared for market that is the
property of another and that is found adrift in the waters of Indiana
without a boom or other arrangement provided by the owner to
preserve the logs or timber below the point at which they are found,
whether the logs or timber have a brand or not, is entitled to receive
from the owner the following compensation:
(1) For each freight boat or other heavy boat, two dollars ($2)
per ton for all cargo.
(2) For each jack-boat, skiff, or canoe, one dollar ($1).
(3) For each fleet of timber, fifty dollars ($50).
(4) For each raft of not less than forty (40) logs, fifteen dollars
($15).
(5) For each platform of at least ten (10) logs, four dollars ($4).
(6) For each sawlog or other log or tree prepared for sale, fifty
cents ($0.50).
(7) For each cross or railroad tie, fifteen cents ($0.15).
(8) For boards or planks caught in rafts or a large body:
(A) one dollar ($1) per one thousand (1,000) board feet for
a quantity twenty thousand (20,000) board feet or less; or
(B) fifty cents ($0.50) per one thousand (1,000) board feet
for a quantity greater than twenty thousand (20,000) board
feet.
(9) For loose and scattered boards or planks, five dollars and
fifty cents ($5.50) per one thousand (1,000) board feet.
(10) For staves and heading, four dollars ($4) per one thousand
(1,000) pieces that are merchantable.
(b) The compensation due under subsection (a) is payable by the
owner, if required, upon the delivery to the owner of the logs or
timber.
(c) The finder has a lien upon the property found for the charges
provided in subsection (a).
(d) If the owner of the property fails to pay the compensation due
under subsection (a) within sixty (60) days after the day the property
is found, the property may be sold at the request of the person to
whom the compensation is due by a constable, sheriff, or other
officer of the county in which the property was found. The sale must
be at the courthouse door at public auction to the highest bidder,
upon thirty (30) days written or printed notice that gives the time and
place of sale and a written or printed description of the property and
any marks or brands on the property. The notice of the sale must be
posted at the front door of the courthouse of the county in which the
sale is to be made and at two (2) other public places in the county
where the property is located. It is the duty of the constable or other
officer making the sale to pay to the finder the finder's legal fees and
charges after deducting the constable's or other officer's commission.
The commission charged may be the same as if the constable or other
officer had sold the same property under execution. If any sale
money remains after payment of the charges and fees described in
this section, the constable or other officer shall pay the remainder to
the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the sale occurred
and obtain a receipt for the amount. If the constable or other officer
fails to perform the constable's or other officer's duties under this
chapter, the constable or other officer is liable on the constable's or
other officer's official bond to the party aggrieved.
(e) If the owner, within one (1) year after the date of the sale,
appears before the county judge of the county where the money is
deposited with the clerk and establishes the owner's right to the
satisfaction of the court to the money, the money must, upon the
order of the county judge, be paid over to the owner by the clerk;
otherwise, it shall be paid into the state general fund.
(f) This chapter may not be construed to permit a person to
recover under subsection (a) for any fleet of timber, raft or platform,
sawlog, or other log or tree prepared for the purpose of sale, or any
cross or railroad tie, board, plank, stave, heading, or other timber
prepared for the market that is above any boom or other arrangement
made by the owner to preserve the logs or timber.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.19. Amended by P.L.246-2005,
SEC.219.
Last modified: May 24, 2006