<?xml version="1.0"?>
<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>63302</law_id><section_number>8.7-210</section_number><catch_line>Enforcement of warehouseman&amp;#8217;s lien</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>8.7-206</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="8.7">Commercial Code &#x2014; Warehouse Receipts, Bills of Lading and Other Documents of Title</unit><unit label="part" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="2">Warehouse Receipts: Special Provisions</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="1"><p><span class="prefix-number">1.</span> Except as provided in subsection (2), a warehouseman&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">lien</span> may be enforced by public or private sale of the goods in bloc or in parcels, at any time or place and on any terms which are commercially reasonable, after notifying all persons known to claim an interest in the goods. Such notification must include a statement of the amount due, the nature of the proposed sale and the time and place of any public sale. The <span class="dictionary">fact</span> that a better price could have been obtained by a sale at a different time or in a different method from that selected by the warehouseman is not of itself sufficient to establish that the sale was not made in a commercially reasonable manner. If the warehouseman either sells the goods in the usual manner in any recognized market therefor, or sells at the price current in such market at the time of his sale, or has otherwise sold in conformity with commercially reasonable practices among dealers in the type of goods sold, he has sold in a commercially reasonable manner. A sale of more goods than apparently necessary to be offered to insure satisfaction of the obligation is not commercially reasonable except in cases covered by the preceding sentence. <a id="paragraph-230665" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#1"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2"><p><span class="prefix-number">2.</span> A warehouseman&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">lien</span> on goods other than goods stored by a merchant in the course of his business may be enforced only as follows: <a id="paragraph-230666" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#2"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2a" class="indent-1"><p><span class="prefix-number">a.</span> All persons known to claim an interest in the goods must be notified. <a id="paragraph-230667" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#2a"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2b" class="indent-1"><p><span class="prefix-number">b.</span> The notification must include an itemized statement of the claim, a description of the goods subject to the <span class="dictionary">lien</span>, a demand for payment within a specified time not less than 10 days after receipt of the notification, and a conspicuous statement that unless the claim is paid within that time the goods will be advertised for sale and sold by auction at a specified time and place. <a id="paragraph-230668" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#2b"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2c" class="indent-1"><p><span class="prefix-number">c.</span> The sale must conform to the terms of the notification. <a id="paragraph-230669" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#2c"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2d" class="indent-1"><p><span class="prefix-number">d.</span> The sale must be held at the nearest suitable place to that where the goods are held or stored. <a id="paragraph-230670" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#2d"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2e" class="indent-1"><p><span class="prefix-number">e.</span> After the expiration of the time given in the notification, an advertisement of the sale must be published once a week for two weeks consecutively in a newspaper of general circulation where the sale is to be held. The advertisement must include a description of the goods, the name of the person on whose account they are being held, and the time and place of the sale. The sale must take place at least 15 days after the first publication. If there is no newspaper of general circulation where the sale is to be held, the advertisement must be posted at least 10 days before the sale in not less than six conspicuous places in the neighborhood of the proposed sale. <a id="paragraph-230671" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#2e"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="3"><p><span class="prefix-number">3.</span> Before any sale pursuant to this section, any person claiming a right in the goods may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the <span class="dictionary">lien</span> and the reasonable expenses incurred under this section. In that event, the goods must not be sold, but must be retained by the warehouseman subject to the terms of the receipt and this title. <a id="paragraph-230672" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#3"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="4"><p><span class="prefix-number">4.</span> The warehouseman may buy at any public sale pursuant to this section. <a id="paragraph-230673" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#4"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="5"><p><span class="prefix-number">5.</span> A purchaser in good faith of goods sold to enforce a warehouseman&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">lien</span> takes the goods free of any rights of persons against whom the <span class="dictionary">lien</span> was valid, despite the warehouseman&#x2019;s noncompliance with the requirements of this section. <a id="paragraph-230674" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#5"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="6"><p><span class="prefix-number">6.</span> The warehouseman may satisfy his <span class="dictionary">lien</span> from the proceeds of any sale pursuant to this section but must hold the balance, if any, for delivery on demand to any person to whom he would have been bound to deliver the goods. <a id="paragraph-230675" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#6"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="7"><p><span class="prefix-number">7.</span> The rights provided by this section shall be in addition to all other rights allowed by <span class="dictionary">law</span> to a <span class="dictionary">creditor</span> against his debtor. <a id="paragraph-230676" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#7"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="8"><p><span class="prefix-number">8.</span> Where a <span class="dictionary">lien</span> is on goods stored by a merchant in the course of his business, the <span class="dictionary">lien</span> may be enforced in accordance with either subsection (1) or (2). <a id="paragraph-230677" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#8"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="9"><p><span class="prefix-number">9.</span> The warehouseman is liable for <span class="dictionary">damages</span> caused by failure to comply with the requirements for sale under this section and, in case of willful violation, is liable for conversion. <a id="paragraph-230678" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.7-210/#9"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7; 61-36; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
