Definition

Noun: * Warehouseman's lien: A legal right granted to a person or company operating a warehouse (the warehouseman) to retain possession of goods stored with them until the owner of the goods pays all outstanding charges for storage, handling, and related services.

Usage

This term is used in legal, commercial, and logistics contexts to describe a specific security interest. It is a possessory lien, meaning the right to retain the goods exists only as long as the warehouseman physically holds them. * The warehouseman's lien ensures that service providers are compensated before releasing stored property. * It is a common clause in warehousing and storage contracts.

Examples

• The storage company exercised its warehouseman's lien on the imported furniture because the client had not paid the invoice for three months.
• Before you can retrieve your archived files, you must settle the bill; the contract clearly stipulates a warehouseman's lien on the contents until payment is received.
• Due to the unpaid fees, the goods are subject to a warehouseman's lien and cannot be released.

Advanced Usage

• Enforcement of the lien: If charges remain unpaid after a specified period, the warehouseman may have the right to sell the retained goods at a public auction to satisfy the debt, following proper legal notice procedures.
• Priority of lien: A warehouseman's lien typically takes priority over many other claims to the goods, as it secures payment for services that preserved the goods' value.

Variants and Related Words

• Warehouseman (n): A person or entity engaged in the business of storing goods for hire. (Often modernized to "warehouse operator").
• Lien (n): A general legal right to retain possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
• Possessory lien: The category of lien, including the warehouseman's lien, that depends on retaining physical possession of the goods.

Synonyms

• Storage lien
• Bailee's lien (in a broader sense, as a warehouseman is a type of bailee)

Related Legal Concepts

• Artisan's lien: The right of a craftsman to retain possession of a piece of work until payment is made for the repairs or improvements.
• Carrier's lien: The right of a transport company to retain goods shipped until the freight charges are paid.

Noun

1. right of a warehouseman to retain goods until all storage charges have been paid