MS 2022-09-W-DavisJr-September-21-2022-Disposal-of-Abandoned-Personal-Property-by-a-Joint-A September 21, 2022

How does a Mississippi joint airport board dispose of abandoned personal property left at the airport?

Short answer: A Mississippi joint airport board created under § 61-5-37 can dispose of abandoned personal property using the county procedure (§ 19-3-85) or the city procedure (§ 21-39-21), unless the joint agreement specifies one. 'Claiming' the property requires filing a claim with the governing authority, not just verbal notice of ownership. Sale proceeds go into the joint airport fund under § 61-5-41.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

The Corinth-Alcorn County Joint Airport Board had abandoned personal property at its airport (the kind of thing that accumulates: trailers, equipment, parts, perhaps an aircraft). The board's attorney needed a roadmap for disposing of it. Mississippi has a county statute for abandoned personal property, § 19-3-85, and a parallel city statute, § 21-39-21, but no statute specifically tailored to a joint airport board. The attorney asked five practical questions, and the AG worked through each.

Question 1: Does the joint airport board have authority to dispose of abandoned property?
Yes. § 61-5-37 lets the joint airport board exercise the authority of its constituent public agencies (the city and the county that created it). Subject to the limits in § 61-5-39, the board can step into either the county's shoes or the city's shoes for purposes of disposal.

Question 2: Which statute does the board follow?
Either one, unless the joint agreement that created the board specifies. The 2007 Dulaney AG opinion already said this for real property; the Davis Jr. opinion extends the same logic to abandoned personal property. The two statutes set up "essentially the same statutory scheme" with the same notice and sale steps.

Question 3: If the board doesn't have the authority, which entity (city or county) acts?
Moot. The board does have the authority.

Question 4: How does an owner "claim" the property?
By filing a claim with the appropriate governing authority. Verbal notice that the property belongs to you is not enough. The owner has to file a claim and establish a right to the property. Both statutes use the same words: the governing authority posts notice in three public places, the owner has 120 days to file a claim and recover the property, and after 120 days the property goes to public auction. Because the statutes do not define "filing a claim" or set out the form, the board has discretion under § 61-5-37 to enact regulatory procedures for claims, as long as the procedures comply with §§ 19-3-85 and 21-39-21. Whether a particular piece of property has been abandoned, claimed, or recovered is a case-by-case factual call.

Question 5: Where do sale proceeds go?
Into the joint airport fund created under § 61-5-41, not into the county treasury or the city general fund. The statute funnels "any federal, state or other contributions or loans, and the revenues obtained from the joint ownership, control and operation of any airport or air navigation facility under the jurisdiction of the joint board" into the joint fund. Auction proceeds from disposal of the airport's abandoned property qualify.

What this means for you

If you sit on a Mississippi joint airport board

You can clear out abandoned property without going back to the city council or the county board of supervisors for separate authorization. Pick a procedure (county or city), or follow whichever your joint agreement specifies, and run it. Adopt a written claim procedure that spells out: who can file, what evidence of ownership is needed, where to file, and the deadline. Apply the same procedure consistently. Put the procedure on your minutes so there is a record.

If you manage a Mississippi airport (joint, municipal, or county)

The same notice-and-sale logic applies, just under whichever statute fits the facility's governance. Photographs, dated logs, and posted notices in three public places are the basics. Build a tickler file of where each step in the 120-day clock is. The cleaner the procedure, the harder it is for someone to come back later claiming they never had a chance to recover their property.

If you own equipment, an aircraft, or other personal property that has been sitting at a Mississippi airport

If you got a notice, do not just call the airport and say "that's mine." File a claim in writing with the airport board (or whichever governing authority is doing the disposal). Bring documentation: title, registration, photos, receipts. Take the property home. A passive claim is not a claim. The 120-day window is real, and after it runs the property goes to auction.

If you are a tenant whose hangar lease ended and you left things behind

Get them out, or expect to find them on a notice list. The abandonment process under §§ 19-3-85 and 21-39-21 is designed to give counties and municipalities (and now joint airport boards) a clean way to recover space. Lease termination is the usual moment to retrieve property; once you cross the line into "abandoned," the legal mechanism the AG describes applies.

If you are a buyer at a public auction of airport-abandoned property

You take subject to whatever defects the property has. The notice-and-sale process gives the board clean title to convey, but liens, security interests, and ownership claims that were not properly noticed are a separate issue. Inspect carefully and assume buyer-beware, particularly for aircraft (which have separate FAA registration and lien systems).

Common questions

Q: How does the joint airport board's authority compare to the city or the county acting alone?
A: § 61-5-37 lets the board exercise the powers of its constituent public agencies. So the board can act under either statute. The Dulaney (2007) opinion confirmed this for real property; the Davis Jr. opinion confirms it for abandoned personal property. The constituent city and county do not need to act separately.

Q: What if the joint agreement creating the board says nothing about which procedure to use?
A: Then the board picks. Both procedures work, both lead to the same general result (notice, claim window, public auction), and the board has discretion under § 61-5-37 to choose. If the joint agreement does specify, follow that.

Q: What does "filing a claim" require?
A: The statutes do not say. The board can adopt its own procedure: a written claim form, identifying information for the property and the claimant, evidence of ownership, the claimant's contact info, and a date by which the claim must be filed. The procedure has to comply with the statutory notice and timing rules. Whether a particular claim is sufficient is a factual call by the board, subject to judicial review.

Q: How long does the owner have to claim the property?
A: 120 days from the date the governing entity posts notice. After 120 days, if no one has filed a claim, the property is sold at public auction to the highest bidder for cash, after the entity posts notice of sale in three public places at least 10 days before the sale.

Q: Where does the notice get posted?
A: In at least three public places. The statutes do not specify which three places. Common picks: the airport bulletin board, the courthouse bulletin board, the city or county clerk's office, and possibly online if the entity has an active website. The board should pick visible, durable spots.

Q: Where do the auction proceeds go?
A: Into the joint fund maintained under § 61-5-41. That is true even though the analogous county statute (§ 19-3-85) sends proceeds to the county treasury and the city statute (§ 21-39-21) sends proceeds to the municipal general fund. The joint-airport-fund rule in § 61-5-41 governs because the joint board owns the airport's revenues.

Q: What if a hangar tenant's aircraft is the abandoned property?
A: The same notice-and-sale procedure applies, but aircraft come with FAA-level complications: registration, prior liens (especially financing liens), and federal preemption issues. Talk to airport-finance counsel before disposing of an aircraft. The Mississippi statutes will give you a state-law mechanism, but federal liens may survive the state-law sale.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi joint airport boards are creatures of § 61-5-37 and surrounding statutes. Two or more public agencies (typically a city and a county) can create a joint board to own and operate an airport, share the costs, and consolidate authority. The board exercises the powers of the constituent agencies, subject to limits in § 61-5-39 and the terms of the joint agreement. Revenues flow into a joint fund under § 61-5-41.

For abandoned personal property, Mississippi has parallel statutes for counties (§ 19-3-85) and municipalities (§ 21-39-21). They share a structure: receipt or recovery of the property, posting notice in three public places, a 120-day claim window, public auction with 10-day notice if no claim is filed, and proceeds to the appropriate treasury or general fund.

The Davis Jr. opinion is significant because it answers the systems integration question (how do these statutes combine for a joint airport board?) and the procedural question (what does it take to claim abandoned property?). It also confirms the proceeds rule: joint property revenues go to the joint fund.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-85 (county procedure for abandoned personal property)
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-21 (municipal procedure for abandoned personal property)
Miss. Code Ann. § 61-5-37 (joint airport board authority to exercise constituent powers)
Miss. Code Ann. § 61-5-39 (limits on joint board authority)
Miss. Code Ann. § 61-5-41 (joint airport fund)
MS AG Op., Dulaney (Mar. 16, 2007) (joint airport board may follow either county or city statute for disposal of real property)

Source

Original opinion text

September 21, 2022
William H. Davis, Jr., Esq.
Attorney, Corinth-Alcorn County Joint Airport Board
Post Office Box 1613
Corinth, Mississippi 38835
Re:

Disposal of Abandoned Personal Property by a Joint Airport Board
Created Under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 61-5-37

Dear Mr. Davis:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.
Questions Presented
1. Does the Joint Airport Board have authority under Section 61-5-37 to dispose of abandoned
property using the procedures outlined in Sections 19-3-85 and 21-39-21?
2. If the answer to question one is in the affirmative, which statute, Section 19-3-85 or Section
21-39-21, must the Joint Airport Board follow?
3. If the answer to question one is in the negative, which governing entity—the City of
Corinth or Alcorn County—should proceed to dispose of the abandoned property in the
possession of the Joint Airport Board?
4. May an owner "claim" the property simply by advising the authorities that the property is
his, or does the word "claim" in the statutes require the owner to physically "recover" and
take possession of the property, removing it from the airport premises?
5. In the event the abandoned property is sold, should the proceeds from such sale be
deposited into the county treasury pursuant to Section 19-3-85, or into the general fund of
the municipality pursuant to Section 21-39-21?

Brief Response
1. Yes. A joint airport board created under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 61-5-37 may
exercise the authority of its constituent public agencies including the authority to dispose
of abandoned property pursuant to Sections 19-3-85 or 21-39-21.
2. Assuming the joint agreement creating the Joint Airport Board is silent as to which
statutory scheme shall be followed for the Joint Airport Board's disposal of abandoned
property, the Joint Airport Board may dispose of abandoned property in accordance with
either Section 19-3-85 or Section 21-39-21.
3. Based on our response to question one, this question is moot.
4. Pursuant to both Sections 19-3-85 and 21-39-21, claiming abandoned property requires
filing a claim with the appropriate governing authority. The Joint Airport Board may enact
regulatory procedures for filing a claim of ownership of abandoned property to comply
with Sections 19-3-85 and 21-39-21. Whether a particular piece of abandoned property has
been claimed and recovered is a factual determination to be made on a case-by-case basis.
5. The proceeds from the sale shall be deposited into the Joint Airport Board's fund created
in accordance with Section 61-5-41.
Applicable Law and Discussion
In your request, you provide a detailed history of the airport's interactions with an owner of a
specific piece of personal property located at the airport that has possibly been abandoned.
Whether a specific piece of property has been abandoned is a factual determination to be made by
the Joint Airport Board. We offer the following for guidance.
In response to your first and second questions, counties are authorized to dispose of abandoned
personal property under Section 19-3-85, and municipalities are authorized to do the same under
Section 21-39-21. Section 61-5-37 authorizes the Joint Airport Board to exercise the authority of
its constituent public agencies subject to the limitations in Section 61-5-39. Therefore, when
previously asked what statutory scheme a joint airport board would follow for disposing of real
property, we opined that the board could follow either the county or the city statute. MS AG Op.,
Dulaney at *2 (Mar. 16, 2007). Unless the joint agreement specifies which statute shall be used
when the Joint Airport Board disposes of abandoned personal property, the Joint Airport Board
may dispose of the abandoned personal property using the procedures outlined in either Section
19-3-85 or Section 21-39-21.
Because we opine that the Joint Airport Board has the authority to dispose of abandoned personal
property, your third question is rendered moot.
Your fourth question asks about the requirements for a known owner to claim abandoned property
and thus prevent the sale of the property. Sections 19-3-85 and 21-39-21 provide essentially the
same statutory scheme to be followed for disposing of abandoned property, each to be executed
by its respective governing entity. The governing authorities must post notice of the receipt or
recovery of the abandoned property in at least three public places. Id. As you state in your request,
both sections provide that the owner may "recover" his or her personal property by "filing a claim"
with the appropriate governing authority, establishing his or her right to the property. Id. Further,
both schemes state that if no person claims the property within one hundred twenty (120) days
from the date notice is given, then the governing entity shall cause the property to be sold at public
auction to the highest bidder for cash after first posting notice of sale in three (3) public places,
either in the county or municipality depending on the statute followed, at least ten (10) days before
the date of sale. Id.

It is the opinion of this office that once property has been determined to be abandoned, simply
advising the Joint Airport Board of purported ownership without filing a claim or taking possession
of the property does not meet the statutory requirements for recovering abandoned property.
Sections 19-3-85 and 21-39-21 do not provide a definition or procedure for "filing a claim" or
establishing a right to abandoned property. Thus, it is the further opinion of this office that in
accordance with its regulatory authority under Section 61-5-37, the Joint Airport Board has the
discretion to enact procedures for claiming ownership of and recovering abandoned property that
comply with the above cited statutes. Whether a particular piece of property has been abandoned
or subsequently claimed and recovered is a factual determination that must be made on a case-by-case basis by the Joint Airport Board and is subject to judicial review.
Finally, and in response to your fifth question, Section 61-5-41 provides that "[a]ny federal, state
or other contributions or loans, and the revenues obtained from the joint ownership, control and
operation of any airport or air navigation facility under the jurisdiction of the joint board shall be
paid into the joint fund." Accordingly, any proceeds from an auction where the Joint Airport Board
sells abandoned personal property should be deposited into the joint fund created and maintained
pursuant to Section 61-5-41.
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By:

/s/ Abigail C. Overby
Abigail C. Overby
Special Assistant Attorney General