The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 9A V.S.A. § 7-308)
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§ 7—308. Enforcement of carrier’s lien
(a) A carrier’s lien on goods may be enforced by public or private sale of the goods,
in bulk or in packages, at any time or place and on any terms that are commercially
reasonable, after notifying all persons known to claim an interest in the goods. The
notification shall include a statement of the amount due, the nature of the proposed
sale, and the time and place of any public sale. The fact that a better price could
have been obtained by a sale at a different time or in a method different from that
selected by the carrier is not of itself sufficient to establish that the sale was
not made in a commercially reasonable manner. The carrier sells goods in a commercially
reasonable manner if the carrier sells the goods in the usual manner in any recognized
market therefor, sells at the price current in that market at the time of the sale,
or otherwise sells in conformity with commercially reasonable practices among dealers
in the type of goods sold. A sale of more goods than apparently necessary to be offered
to ensure satisfaction of the obligation is not commercially reasonable, except in
cases covered by the preceding sentence.
(b) Before any sale pursuant to this section, any person claiming a right in the goods
may pay the amount necessary to satisfy the lien and the reasonable expenses incurred
in complying with this section. In that event, the goods may not be sold but shall
be retained by the carrier, subject to the terms of the bill of lading and this article.
(c) A carrier may buy at any public sale pursuant to this section.
(d) A purchaser in good faith of goods sold to enforce a carrier’s lien takes the goods
free of any rights of persons against which the lien was valid, despite the carrier’s
noncompliance with this section.
(e) A carrier may satisfy its lien from the proceeds of any sale pursuant to this section
but shall hold the balance, if any, for delivery on demand to any person to which
the carrier would have been bound to deliver the goods.
(f) The rights provided by this section are in addition to all other rights allowed by
law to a creditor against a debtor.
(g) A carrier’s lien may be enforced pursuant to either subsection (a) of this section
or the procedure set forth in subsection 7—210(b) of this title.
(h) A carrier is liable for damages caused by failure to comply with the requirements
for sale under this section and, in case of willful violation, is liable for conversion. (Added 2015, No. 51, § B.3, eff. June 3, 2015.)