When a Mississippi town cleans up junk on private property, can it haul off dilapidated vehicles and sell them, or does it have to throw them away?

Plain-English summary

The Town of Bolton wanted to clean up private property under Mississippi's municipal cleanup statute, § 21-19-11, and asked the AG two questions about junk cars on the property:

1. Can dilapidated vehicles be removed as "personal property" during the cleanup?
2. If yes, can the town sell them and use the proceeds for cleanup costs, or just dispose of them?

The AG said:

• Yes, dilapidated vehicles are "personal property" for purposes of § 21-19-11. They can be removed during a properly noticed cleanup.
• But § 21-19-11 itself does not authorize selling them. § 21-19-11 expressly excludes the lost/stolen/abandoned property statute (§ 21-39-21) from its scope. All prior AG opinions to the contrary are modified prospectively to conform.
• To sell or dispose of removed vehicles, the town must qualify them as "abandoned motor vehicles" under § 63-23-3 and then follow the abandoned-vehicle sale procedures in §§ 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9.

Whether a vehicle is "dilapidated" or "abandoned" is a factual call for the town's governing authorities, not for the AG.

What this means for you

Town and city attorneys handling a § 21-19-11 cleanup

The opinion holds two things. First, "personal property" in § 21-19-11 includes dilapidated vehicles, so a municipality may remove them as part of a cleanup, assuming it complies with the statute's notice and menace-determination requirements. Second, § 21-19-11 does not itself authorize selling or disposing of what it removes: the statute expressly says removal of personal property "shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 21-39-21," which is the sale statute for lost, stolen, abandoned, or misplaced property. The opinion adds that "all prior opinions to the contrary are modified prospectively." For sale or disposal, the AG points to a separate path: a removed vehicle that is "later found to be an abandoned motor vehicle as defined in Section 63-23-3" may be sold or disposed of under §§ 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9. Whether a vehicle is "dilapidated" or "abandoned" is a fact question the AG said it cannot decide.

Property owners facing a § 21-19-11 cleanup notice

The statute, as described in the opinion, provides procedural safeguards before a municipality cleans property declared "a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community": notice to the owner, a determination that the property is a menace, and an opportunity for the owner to clean it up first. The opinion confirms that vehicles removed in that process cannot be sold under § 21-39-21; sale requires the separate abandoned-vehicle finding under § 63-23-3.

Code enforcement and town governing authorities

The opinion separates removal authority from sale authority. Removal of dilapidated vehicles is allowed under § 21-19-11; sale or disposal is not, unless and until a vehicle is found to be an "abandoned motor vehicle" under § 63-23-3, at which point §§ 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9 govern the sale, including required notice and (under § 63-23-5(4)) excess proceeds. The opinion does not authorize selling § 21-19-11 removals through any other route.

Common questions

Q: What is "personal property" under Mississippi law?
A: § 1-3-41 defines "personal property" as "all tangible and intangible personal property." That broad definition controls when a more specific statute (like § 21-19-11) uses the term without defining it. Vehicles, machinery, scrap metal, and similar items all qualify.

Q: Why doesn't § 21-39-21 apply when § 21-19-11 mentions it?
A: § 21-19-11 says expressly that "removal of personal property shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 21-39-21." § 21-39-21 covers lost, stolen, abandoned, or misplaced personal property and authorizes municipalities to sell such property. The exclusion in § 21-19-11 means a town cannot use the § 21-39-21 sale process to dispose of items removed during a property-cleanup operation.

Q: When is a vehicle "abandoned" under § 63-23-3?
A: Three scenarios: (a) left with an automobile dealer, repair shop, or wrecker for 40+ days after the agreed pickup time; (b) left unattended on a public street, road, highway, or other public property for at least 5 days; (c) lawfully towed at the written request of a law enforcement officer and left for at least 40 days without anyone claiming it. A car sitting in someone's yard does not automatically qualify.

Q: What happens to the proceeds if the town sells an abandoned vehicle?
A: The opinion notes only that § 63-23-5(4) "addresses what to do with the excess proceeds of any sale of an abandoned motor vehicle." It does not detail the distribution beyond pointing to that subsection.

Q: Can the town just crush a junk car with no value?
A: The opinion does not separately authorize disposing of valueless vehicles outside the abandoned-vehicle process. Its second answer ties both sale and disposal to a vehicle being "later found to be an abandoned motor vehicle as defined in Section 63-23-3," after which §§ 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9 apply.

Background and statutory framework

Section 21-19-11 is Mississippi's principal municipal nuisance-cleanup statute. It lets a city or town go on private property, declared to be "a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community," and clean it up. The statute imposes due process safeguards: notice, a finding that the property is a menace, and a chance for the owner to do the cleanup themselves. It also authorizes the governing authority to remove "personal property" as part of the cleanup.

The AG had previously opined (in opinions not directly cited in this opinion) that personal property removed under § 21-19-11 could be sold under § 21-39-21. This opinion changes that. Subsections (1) and (2) of § 21-19-11 say that "removal of personal property shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 21-39-21." Reading the text carefully, the AG concluded the exclusion eliminates § 21-39-21 as a sale authority for § 21-19-11 removals. Prior opinions to the contrary are modified prospectively.

For dilapidated vehicles specifically, the path to sale runs through Mississippi's abandoned-vehicle statutes (§§ 63-23-3 through 63-23-9). Those statutes were designed for impound-and-sale of vehicles that meet specific abandonment criteria, with required notices and waiting periods. They are the appropriate vehicle for converting a junk car removed in a cleanup into salvage proceeds.

The AG also reminded the requestor of a recurring Mississippi rule: factual determinations (whether a particular vehicle is "dilapidated" or "abandoned") are for the local governing authorities, not the AG, who can only opine on questions of state law.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-11 (municipal cleanup of private property determined to be a menace)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-21 (lost, stolen, abandoned, or misplaced personal property; municipal sale authority)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-1 (definitions in Title 1, Chapter 3 apply unless context indicates otherwise)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-41 (definition of "personal property")
• Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (limits on AG opinion authority)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 63-23-3 (definition of "abandoned motor vehicle")
• Miss. Code Ann. § 63-23-5 (sale of abandoned vehicles, excess proceeds)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 63-23-7 (procedures for abandoned-vehicle disposition)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 63-23-9 (further abandoned-vehicle disposition rules)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/J.Hudson-August-17-2023-Mississippi-Code-Annotated-Section-21-19-11.pdf

Original opinion text

August 17, 2023

Josie Mayfield Hudson, Esq.
Attorney, Town of Bolton
Post Office Box 389
Vicksburg, Mississippi 39181

Re: Mississippi Code Annotated Section 21-19-11

Dear Ms. Hudson:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

The town of Bolton ("Town") wishes to clean up private property within the Town pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 21-19-11. As part of this effort, the Town wants to remove dilapidated vehicles from private property. Because Section 21-19-11 states that personal property shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 21-39-21, the Town inquires about the disposal process for dilapidated vehicles once they have been removed.

Questions Presented

1. Does personal property, as stated in Section 21-19-11, include dilapidated vehicles on private property?
2. If the answer to Question 1 is yes, may dilapidated vehicles be sold and any proceeds from the sale used for cleanup costs? Or, if the vehicles are of no value, may they be disposed of by the Town?

Brief Response

1. The term "personal property" as used in Section 21-19-11 includes dilapidated vehicles on private property.
2. In the instance a dilapidated vehicle is removed from a property pursuant to Section 21-19-11 and is later found to be an abandoned motor vehicle as defined in Section 63-23-3, it may then be sold or disposed of in accordance with Sections 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 21-19-11 provides the process for a municipality to clean private property determined to be "a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community." The statute sets forth various due process safeguards such as requiring notice to the property owner, a determination that the property is a menace to the public health, safety, and welfare of the community, and, assuming the property is adjudicated in need of cleaning, an opportunity for the property owner to clean the property himself. Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-11(1), (2).

If the property owner does not clean the property himself, the governing authority of the municipality shall do so. Id. As part of the cleanup process, the governing authority is authorized to remove "personal property." Id. Regarding your first question, dilapidated vehicles plainly fall within the definition of "personal property" as used in Section 21-19-11. Title 1, Chapter 3 of the Mississippi Code defines terms commonly used in Mississippi statutes for statutory construction purposes. These definitions are "applicable to every statute unless its general object, or the context of language construed, or other provisions of law indicate that a different meaning or application was intended from that required by this chapter." Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-1. Pursuant to Section 1-3-41, "[t]he term 'personal property,' when used in any statute, means all tangible and intangible personal property." Thus, assuming compliance with the provisions of Section 21-19-11, it is the opinion of this office that the statute's allowance for the removal of "personal property" includes the authority to remove dilapidated vehicles on private property. However, whether a vehicle is "dilapidated" is a determination of fact to be made by the governing authorities and on which this office may not opine. Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25.

Regarding your second question, Section 21-19-11 does not address the sale or disposal of personal property removed in accordance therewith. However, subsections (1) and (2) of Section 21-19-11 state that "removal of personal property shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 21-39-21," which speaks to lost, stolen, abandoned, or misplaced personal property and authorizes the sale of the same. It is therefore the opinion of this office that Section 21-39-21 does not authorize the sale or disposal of personal property, including but not limited to dilapidated vehicles, removed by the Town pursuant to Section 21-19-11. All prior opinions to the contrary are modified prospectively to conform herewith.

This said, we refer you to Section 63-23-3, which defines an "abandoned motor vehicle" as a motor vehicle:

(a) which has been left by the owner, or some person acting for the owner, with an automobile dealer, repairman or wrecker service for repair or for some other reason and has not been called for by such owner or other person within a period of forty (40) days after the time agreed upon or within forty (40) days after such vehicle is turned over to such dealer, repairman or wrecker service when no time is agreed upon.

(b) which is left unattended on a public street, road or highway or other public property for a period of at least five (5) days.

(c) which has been lawfully towed onto the property of another at the written request of a law enforcement officer and left there for a period of not less than forty (40) days without any one having made claim thereto.

Whether a vehicle is an abandoned vehicle is a question of fact. In the instance a vehicle is determined to be abandoned as set forth in Section 63-23-3, Sections 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9 provide when and how such vehicle may be sold or disposed of, including the requisite notice that must be given. Section 63-23-5(4) addresses what to do with the excess proceeds of any sale of an abandoned motor vehicle. It is thus the opinion of this office that in the instance a dilapidated vehicle is removed from a property pursuant to Section 21-19-11 and is later found to be an abandoned vehicle as defined in Section 63-23-3, it may then be sold or disposed of in accordance with Sections 63-23-5, 63-23-7, and 63-23-9.

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/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General