Storage Liens Act 1973

This Act may be cited as the Storage Liens Act 1973.

In this Act—goods includes personal property of every description (save a motor vehicle) that may be deposited with a storer as bailee.Magistrates Court...Magistrates Court District...motor vehicle means a motor car, motor carriage, motor cycle, tractor or other vehicle propelled or designed to be propelled, wholly or partly by a volatile spirit, steam, gas, oil or electricity or by any means other than by human or animal power.storer means a person lawfully engaged in the business of storing goods as a bailee for reward.warehouseman...

Subject to section 5, every storer shall have a lien on goods deposited with the storer for storage, whether deposited by the owner of the goods or by the owner’s authority, or by any person entrusted with the possession of the goods by the owner or by his or her authority.

The lien shall be for the amount of the storer’s charges, that is to say—

all lawful charges for storage and preservation of the goods; and

all lawful claims for money advanced, interest, insurance, transportation, labour, weighing, coopering, and other expenses in relation to the goods; and

all reasonable charges for any notice required to be given under this Act, and for notice and advertisement of sale, and for sale of the goods where default is made in satisfying the storer’s lien.

The storer’s lien on goods—

is declared to be a statutory interest to which section 73(2) of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cwlth) applies; and

has priority over all security interests in relation to the goods.

In this section—security interest has the meaning given by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cwlth), section 12.

Subject to subsection (4) the storer shall within 3 months after the date of the deposit of the goods give notice of the lien—

to any person who has before the expiration of 2 months after the date of the deposit of the goods served upon the storer a notice, containing the prescribed particulars, of the person’s claim to be the owner of the goods or of an interest in them or to be entitled to some charge thereon or of whose interest in them the storer has received notice as prescribed; and

to the grantee or (where a transfer or assignment by the grantee has been registered under the Bills of Sale and Other Instruments Act 1955, part 2) to the transferee or assignee of a bill of sale—

which relates to the goods; and

which was granted by the person depositing the goods or by any other person of whose interest in the goods the storer has knowledge; and

which was registered in accordance with the said part 2 prior to the date of the deposit of the goods; and

which has not ceased to have any effect as to the chattels comprised therein or subject thereto or in respect of which a satisfaction has not been registered; and

to any other person of whose interest in the goods the storer at any time before the expiration of 2 months after the date of the deposit of the goods has knowledge.

The notice given by the storer under this section must be in the approved form and contain—

a sufficient description of the goods; and

a statement showing the location where the goods are stored, the date of their deposit with the storer, and the name of the person by whom they were deposited; and

a statement that a lien is claimed by the storer in respect of the goods under this Act; and

such other particulars as are prescribed.

Where the storer fails to give the notice required by this section, the storer’s lien, as against the person to whom the storer has failed to give notice, shall be void as from the expiration of the period of 3 months from the date of the deposit of the goods.

Nothing in this section requires notice of the lien to be given to the person by whom, or by whose authority, the goods were deposited with the storer.

In addition to all other remedies provided by law for the enforcement of liens or for the recovery of storer’s charges, a storer may sell by public auction, in the manner provided in this section, any goods upon which the storer has a lien for charges which have become due.

The storer shall give written notice of the storer’s intention to sell—

to the person liable as debtor for the charges for which the lien exists; and

to any person who has served upon the storer a prescribed notice of the person’s claim to be the owner of the goods or of some interest therein or to be entitled to some charge thereon or of whose interest in them the storer has received notice as prescribed; and

to the grantee or (where a transfer or assignment by the grantee has been registered under the Bills of Sale and Other Instruments Act 1955, part 2) to the transferee or assignee of a bill of sale—

which relates to the goods; and

which was granted by the person depositing the goods or by any other person of whose interest in the goods the storer has knowledge; and

which was registered in accordance with the said part 2 prior to the date of the deposit of the goods; and

which has not ceased to have any effect as to the chattels comprised therein or subject thereto or in respect of which a satisfaction has not been registered; and

to any other person of whose interest in the goods the storer has knowledge.

The notice shall contain—

a sufficient description of the goods; and

a statement showing the location where the goods are stored, the date of their deposit with the storer, and the name of the person by whom they were deposited; and

an itemised statement of the storer’s charges showing the sum due at the time of the notice; and

a demand that the amount of the charges as stated in the notice and such further charges as may accrue shall be paid on or before a date mentioned, not less than 30 days from the giving of the notice in a manner prescribed; and

a statement that unless the charges are paid within the time mentioned the goods will be advertised for sale and sold by public auction at a time and place specified in the notice.

Where the charges are not paid on or before the day mentioned in the notice, and advertisement of the sale, describing the goods to be sold, and stating the time and place of sale, shall be published—

in a newspaper published in Brisbane and circulating throughout the State;

in a newspaper (if any) published in the district in which are situated the premises where the goods are deposited with the storer.

The sale shall be held not less than 28 days from the date of the publication in pursuance of subsection (4) of the advertisement, or where the advertisement is so published in more than 1 paper and on different days, the date of the last such publication.

A Magistrates Court constituted by a stipendiary magistrate sitting alone held in the district in which are situated the premises where the goods are deposited with the storer may, on the application in the manner prescribed of any person having an interest in the goods, at any time after the giving of the notice by order stay further proceedings under this section for such period and on such terms as it deems just, and no proceedings under this section shall be taken by the storer after due service of such order on the storer, and during the period specified in the order.

This section shall apply only to cases in which some part of the charges in arrear are in respect of a period more than 6 months prior to the date upon which the notice of intention to sell is given.

Where a notice of lien under section 5, or a notice of intention to sell under section 6 has been given, but such provisions have not been strictly complied with, if any court before whom any question respecting the notice is tried or inquired into considers that such provisions have been substantially complied with, or that it would be inequitable that the lien or sale shall be void by reason of such noncompliance, no objection to the sufficiency of the notice shall in any such case be allowed to prevail so as to release or discharge the goods from the lien or vitiate the sale.

Regulations made under section 20 may provide for the giving of notice by advertisement in cases where any person to whom notice may be given pursuant to section 5 or 6 is unknown to the storer, or where no address of any such person is known to the storer, and for the ascertainment of the day upon which such notice shall be deemed to have been given, and for any other matter relating to such advertisement.

Any notice given by advertisement in accordance with such regulations shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have been given personally on the date ascertained pursuant to the regulation.

A notice required or authorised by this Act to be given to any person shall be in writing.

The buyer of any goods sold by a storer in the exercise of the storer’s powers under this Act shall acquire a good title to the goods.

Upon any proceedings by or against the storer in respect of any goods sold by the storer in the exercise of powers under this Act, the burden of proving that the provisions of this Act relating to the sale of those goods have been complied with shall be upon the storer.

Where the bailor of any goods is not the owner thereof and the goods are sold by the storer in the exercise of powers under this Act without notice by the storer to the owner, the owner shall not be entitled to the return of the goods but shall have the same rights in respect of the proceeds of the sale of the goods as the storer would have had in respect of the goods if the property therein had not passed to the buyer by virtue of this Act.