Salvage

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 89, ch. 17
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-1 Abandoned logs, boats, etc., salvaged.

Any saw logs, sawn or hewn timber, lumber, boat, building, or other floatable thing of value that may have become derelict in any of the waters or watercourses of the state or in the beds thereof and which have been relinquished, deserted or left by the owner thereof with the intention of abandoning same shall become the property of the owner of the bed of the stream, or the part thereof, where such property may be found and such owner may raise, float or salve said property or authorize the raising, floating or salving of such property.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-3 Replevin by owner; bond; lien for salvage.

Any person claiming to be the owner of such property may institute an action in replevin for the recovery of such property. Any bond given in such suit to obtain possession of said property shall be liable for any depreciation in value of the property between the date of the giving of the bond and final termination of the suit. If no bond be given by either party within seventy-two (72) hours after the seizure of the property under the writ, the sheriff on the written demand of either party shall sell the same for cash at public outcry after posting a notice of the time and place of sale at three (3) or more public places in the county. The proceeds of sale shall be paid into the registry of the court to await the final outcome of the suit. The defendant in such suit, in the event he or any person acting for him or with his consent has raised, floated or salvaged the property whose title or possession is in issue, shall be entitled to a lien on such property for the reasonable expense of raising, floating, or salvaging such property.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-5 Prima facie abandonment.

In any suit brought by one claiming to be the owner of such property, proof that such property has been relinquished, deserted or left for a period of three (3) years thereafter without effort to salve such property shall be prima facie evidence of the intention to abandon.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-7 Jurisdiction limited.

The following sections, and not the foregoing, shall apply to the waters of the Mississippi Sound or of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction and control of the State of Mississippi; provided that if the foregoing sections should be held unconstitutional, then the following sections shall apply to the entire state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-9 How claims for salvage service rendered shall be filed and prosecuted.

Whenever any person shall desire to claim compensation for any salvage service rendered by him in reclaiming and protecting from loss, damage, injury or destruction, any saw log, sawn or hewn timber, lumber, boat or other water craft, or other floatable thing of value, that may have become derelict, in any of the waters of this state or in the beds or on the shores thereof, or for compensation for the preservation thereof, such finder, salvor, or person raising or floating such property, shall file a petition for compensation in the circuit court of the county in which such property shall be found, raised or floated, or salved. In the petition he shall set forth a full and particular description of the property found, raised or floated, or salved, containing all names, letters or other marks of identification appearing thereon, and in the petition he shall also set forth the facts constituting his claim for compensation, and the amount claimed by him for such service, and shall also state the name of the owner of the property, if known to the petitioner, and his place of residence and post-office address. Said owner shall be made a party defendant thereto, and if the owner be unknown, all persons having or claiming any interest in the property shall be made parties defendant, and the petition shall be sworn to. Immediately upon the filing of such petition, the petitioner shall deliver to the sheriff of the county the property described in the petition to be dealt with as hereinafter provided in Section 89-17-17.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-11 Clerk to issue summons.

Upon filing such petition the clerk shall issue a summons to the defendant named as required by the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. In case the owners of the property are unknown, then a notice shall be published as provided for by the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-13 How notice given where parties are nonresidents of state.

In suits against persons named in the petition, as defendants thereto, where such defendant is a nonresident of the state, or cannot be served with process, then notice shall be given to such defendant as is provided for in the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-15 Procedure on return of writ; defendant to plead to petition in case of contest.

At the return of the process, in case the defendant shall contest the petitioner’s right to compensation or salvage, or the amount thereof, the petition shall stand for a complaint and the defendant shall plead to it as if it were an ordinary action at law and the matter shall be tried as provided for in the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-17 Sheriff to advertise property for sale; proceeds held for result of suit.

Immediately upon the delivery to the sheriff of the property described in the petition as provided in Section 89-17-9, the sheriff shall at once advertise the property for sale in the same manner as provided by law for the advertisement and sale of personal property under execution, and on the day fixed shall sell the property for cash to the highest bidder, and shall hold the proceeds to abide the result of the suit or proceeding. But the defendant to the petition, or any person interposing a claim thereto, in cases against unknown owners, can at any time before the day of sale, execute a bond with two (2) or more sureties in double the value of the property, such valuation to be fixed by the sheriff conditioned to satisfy such judgment as the petitioner shall recover in the case, and upon the execution of such bond, to be approved by the sheriff, the property shall be delivered to the defendant or claimant.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-19 Failure of defendant to appear at return term; funds condemned to satisfy judgment.

In case the defendant shall not appear at the return term of the writ, or in cases against unknown owners, where no person or party interposes a claim, the court shall award the petitioner a judgment for the amount as appears to the court that petitioner is entitled to, and condemn the funds in the hands of the sheriff, or render judgment against the defendant or his bond as the case may be, for the satisfaction of the judgment so rendered and costs. In case there shall be a surplus remaining in the hands of the sheriff after satisfying the judgment and costs, it shall be paid to the clerk of the court, to be held by him subject to the claim of the owners of the property so sold, and shall be paid out to such owner, upon the order of the court, after satisfactory evidence is adduced, establishing in the judgment of the court such ownership. In all cases where the petitioner establishes his claim, and is awarded a judgment for the amount stated in the petition, the court shall allow the petitioner a reasonable attorney’s fee for preparing the petition, which shall be taxed as part of the costs of the case.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-21 Jurisdiction of justice courts; time for trial; notice to parties.

Justice courts shall have jurisdiction of all cases provided for in this chapter, where the value of the property described in the petition does not exceed the amount provided in Section 9-11-9, and in all cases where the defendant is a nonresident, or is not served with process, the provisions of the section of the code in relation to attachments before justice court judges shall apply, and notice shall be given to the defendant, and the case tried as provided in that section of the code. When the case shall be one against unknown owners, the justice court judge shall fix the trial for a date not earlier than one (1) month from the beginning of the suit, and notices shall be posted for three (3) consecutive weeks in the county of the justice court judge, addressed to all persons having or claiming any interest in the property described in the petition, and describing the property in such notices, requiring them to appear before the justice court judge on the date fixed for trial to contest the claim of the petitioner, which notices shall be posted in the public places in the county likely to be seen, which shall be in lieu of a publication thereof in a newspaper.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-23 Person claiming property admitted to defend.

On the return of the summons before a justice of the peace, or on the day fixed for trial, in cases against nonresidents or parties not served with process, or in cases against unknown owners, the justice shall hear the cause. Any person making claim to the property described in the petition shall be admitted to defend as provided in Section 89-17-15 for cases in the circuit court, and the same mode of procedure shall be followed in the trial as is provided for the trial of civil actions before justices of the peace, under the general laws of the state, and judgment shall be rendered as hereinbefore provided in cases before the circuit court.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-25 Penalty for converting derelict property to own use.

If any person shall convert to his own use, sell or otherwise dispose of any saw log, sawn or hewn timber, lumber, boat, or other water craft, or other floatable thing of value not belonging to him, which may have come into his possession while floating as derelict, in any of the waters of the State of Mississippi, or which may theretofore have been sunken and raised or floated from such sunken condition by him or others, or which he or others may have found cast upon the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, or Mississippi Sound, in the State of Mississippi, or any bay, inlet, or bayou, emptying into same, or upon the shore of any other watercourse in the State of Mississippi, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than double the value of the property converted, sold or disposed of, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six (6) months.

Miss. Code Ann. § 89-17-27 Unlawful to purchase derelict property from finder thereof.

If any person shall purchase, or otherwise acquire, except at a sale as provided in this chapter, or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, from any person other than the owner thereof, any property of the character or description, and in the condition enumerated in the foregoing section, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding double the value of the property so purchased, or acquired, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six (6) months.
Source: Public.Resource.Org MS CodeURL: https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-ms/transforms/ms/ocms/r78/gov.ms.code.title.89.htmlFetched: 6/10/2026

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