§ 28:9–333. Priority of certain liens arising by operation of law.

(a) In this section, “possessory lien” means an interest, other than a security interest or an agricultural lien:

(1) Which secures payment or performance of an obligation for services or materials furnished with respect to goods by a person in the ordinary course of the person’s business;

(2) Which is created by statute or rule of law in favor of the person; and

(3) Whose effectiveness depends on the person’s possession of the goods.

(b) A possessory lien on goods has priority over a security interest in the goods unless the lien is created by a statute that expressly provides otherwise.

(Oct. 26, 2000, D.C. Law 13-201, § 101, 47 DCR 7576.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 28:9-109.

Uniform Commercial Code Comment

1. Source. Former Section 9-310.

2. “Possessory Liens.” This section governs the relative priority of security interests arising under this Article and “possessory liens,” i.e., common-law and statutory liens whose effectiveness depends on the lienor’s possession of goods with respect to which the lienor provided services or furnished materials in the ordinary course of its business. As under former Section 9-310, the possessory lien has priority over a security interest unless the possessory lien is created by a statute that expressly provides otherwise. If the statute creating the possessory lien is silent as to its priority relative to a security interest, this section provides a rule of interpretation that the possessory lien takes priority, even if the statute has been construed judicially to make the possessory lien subordinate.