Senate Bill No. 36
(By Senators Foster and Hunter)
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[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-18-10 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to setting a ten-year limitation on
the enforcement of certain liens on real estate assessed by
municipalities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-18-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 18. ASSESSMENTS TO IMPROVE STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND SEWERS;
SEWER CONNECTIONS AND BOARD OF HEALTH; ENFORCEMENT
OF DUTY TO PAY FOR SERVICE.
PART IV. LIENS OF ASSESSMENTS AND ENFORCEMENT THEREOF.
§8-18-10. Liens; recording notice of liens; suit for enforcement;
priority.
The property abutting the portion of the street, alley, public
way or easement, or sewer right-of-way or easement, improved shall be subject to a lien, from the date of the ordinance or resolution
laying the assessment, for the payment of the cost of the
improvements assessed against
said the property. A notice of the
liens of
said assessments referring to the assessing ordinance or
resolution, and setting forth a list of the property assessed,
described respectively as to amounts of assessment and ownership,
frontage and location of the property, shall be certified by the
recorder of the municipality to the clerk of the county
court
commission of the county wherein the improvement or any part
thereof is located. The county clerk shall record the same in a
proper trust deed book and index the same in the name of each owner
of abutting property assessed. From the date of the assessment,
the municipality (if neither assessment certificates nor bonds are
issued as hereinafter in this article provided), or the holder of
the assessment certificates (if the assessments are evidenced by
such certificates), or the holders of the bonds secured by
such
assessments (if bonds are issued), shall have
such the liens and
shall be entitled to enforce the same in its, his or their name or
the name of the municipality to the extent of the amount, principal
and interest, of
such the assessments and against the
said
property, as to any assessment not paid as and when due
for a
period of not more than ten years. Said Assessments shall be and
constitute liens in the hands of the municipality, or the holders
of
said certificates, or the holders of
said bonds, as the case may be, upon the respective lots and parcels of land assessed and shall
have priority over all other liens except those for land taxes due
the state, county and municipality, and except any liens for
preexisting special assessments.
Said Assessments and interest
thereon on the assessments shall be paid by the owners of the
property assessed as and when the installments are due. The
municipality, or the holders of any
such certificates, or the
holders of any
such bonds, as the case may be, may enforce the lien
thereof in any proper suit, and when default in the payment, as and
when due, of any assessment, principal or interest, or installment,
shall occur and
such the default
shall have continued continues for
more than sixty days, the municipality, or the holders of any
such
certificates, or the holders of any
such bonds, as the case may be,
may declare the whole unpaid balance due and payable and by proper
civil action seeking equitable relief enforce the lien thereof,
upon process issued and served according to law upon the owner or
owners of the lots or parcels of land subject to
said a lien at the
time such suit may be brought as shown by the records of the clerk
of the county
court commission of the county in which
said the lots
or parcels of land are located.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to set a ten-year limitation
on the enforcement of certain liens on real estate assessed by
municipalities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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