DRIFTS, LOGS, AND TIMBER

KRS tit. XXIX, ch. 364

in effect

KRS 364.010 Definitions

364.010. Definitions As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Timber" includes trees, whether standing, down or prepared for sale, sawlogs and other logs, cross ties, railroad ties, boards, planks, staves and headings, and other wood cut or prepared for market. (2) To "take up" drifts, logs or timber means to take up drifts, logs or timber found adrift in the waters of this state where there is no boom or other arrangement provided by the owner for the preservation of drifts, logs or timber below the point at which they are found. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 1409-1, 1409-6.

KRS 364.020 Fees for taking up drifts, logs and timber -- Lien -- Sale

364.020. Fees for taking up drifts, logs and timber -- Lien -- Sale (1) Whenever any boat, raft or platform, or any timber prepared for market, whether branded or unbranded, is taken up by a person not the owner thereof, the person who takes it up and secures it and delivers it to the owner shall have a claim against the owner for the following fees: Each freight boat or other heavy boat ..................................................... $. 1.00 Each jack boat, skiff or canoe ....................................................................... .25 Each fleet of timber .................................................................................. 10.00 Each raft of not less than forty (40) logs ..................................................... 4.00 Each platform of not less than ten (10) logs ............................................... 1.00 Each sawlog or other log or tree prepared for sale ....................................... .25 Each cross or railroad tie .............................................................................. .03 Boards or planks caught in rafts or large body, per 1,000 feet board measure: For 20,000 board feet or less ............................................................... .50 For over 20,000 board feet ................................................................... .25 Boards or planks, loose and scattered, per 1,000 board feet measure ........ 2.50 Staves and heading, for each 1,000 merchantable pieces ........................... 3.00 (2) The taker-up shall have a lien upon the property taken up by him for the fees and charges provided for by this chapter. If the owner of any such property taken up fails to pay the sum charged thereon within sixty (60) days from the day it was taken up, the property shall, at the instance of the person to whom the charges are due, be sold by a constable, sheriff or other officer of the county in which the property was taken up. The sale shall be made by public auction, at the courthouse door to the highest bidder, upon thirty (30) days' written or printed notice, posted at the front door of the courthouse of the county in which the sale is to be made and at two (2) other public places in the county, giving the time and place of sale and a description of the property and any marks or brands thereon. (3) The constable or other officer making the sale shall pay to the taker-up his legal fees and charges, after deducting his own commission, which shall be the same as though he had sold the property under execution; and if the proceeds of the sale exceed the charges, fees and commission, he shall deposit the excess with the county clerk of the county in which the sale is made, and take his receipt therefor. If the owner, within one (1) year from the date of the sale, appears before the county judge/executive of the county where the money is deposited with the clerk, and establishes to the satisfaction of the court his right to the money, the clerk shall, upon the order of the county judge/executive, pay the money over to the owner; otherwise it shall be paid into the State Treasury. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-1.

KRS 364.030 Charges for keeping fleets, rafts and platforms

364.030. Charges for keeping fleets, rafts and platforms Any person who takes up any fleet, raft or platform shall, in addition to the fees provided for by KRS 364.020, have a claim against the owner for a reasonable compensation for keeping and caring for the property taken up by him, not to exceed the following rates for each day: For each fleet ................................................................................... $2.00 For each raft ......................................................................................... .50 For each platform ................................................................................. .25 Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-2.

KRS 364.040 Charges for keeping other timber more than thirty days

364.040. Charges for keeping other timber more than thirty days Any person who takes up any logs, or any tree prepared for sale, where the log or tree is not part of a fleet, raft or platform, and keeps it in his possession for more than thirty (30) days before the owner thereof offers to pay the fees provided for by KRS 364.020 shall have a claim against the owner for twenty-five cents ($0.25) for every such log or tree, in addition to the fees provided for by KRS 364.020. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-3.

KRS 364.050 Unbranded timber, compensation for taking up

364.050. Unbranded timber, compensation for taking up (1) Any person who takes up unbranded timber prepared for market shall receive as compensation for his services only the fees provided for in KRS 364.020 and no charges for keeping or caring for the timber. (2) No person who takes up unbranded timber shall unlawfully sell, or in any way appropriate to his own use, or shall place any brand upon the timber, without first having it sold as provided in KRS 364.020. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-16.

KRS 364.060 Property not to be secreted or grounded -- Liability

364.060. Property not to be secreted or grounded -- Liability If any person who takes up any drift, log or timber secretes it or allows it to be so grounded that he cannot immediately, upon the demand of the owner or his agent, put it afloat, or if he fails to put it afloat upon such demand, he shall not receive any compensation for taking up or caring for the drift, log or timber, and shall, in addition, be responsible to the owner thereof as if it were afloat. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-4.

KRS 364.070 Brand, adoption by timber dealer

364.070. Brand, adoption by timber dealer (1) Any timber dealer may adopt a brand. (2) Every timber dealer desiring to adopt a brand may do so by executing a writing in substantially the following form: "Notice is hereby given that I (or we) have adopted the following brand in my (or our) business as timber dealer (or dealers), to-wit: [here insert the words, letters, and figures constituting the brand, or the facsimile of any device other than words, letters or figures]. "Dated this .... day of ...., 19..." (3) The writing shall be acknowledged or proved for record in the same manner as deeds, and shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the principal office or place of business of the timber dealer is located. A copy shall be posted at the principal place of business, one (1) at the courthouse door in the county where the business is carried on, and one (1) at each of three (3) other public places in the county. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 1409-5, 1409-7.

KRS 364.080 Brand to be exclusive trade-mark; infringement forbidden

364.080. Brand to be exclusive trade-mark; infringement forbidden (1) Every brand adopted under KRS 364.070 shall, from the date of its adoption, be the exclusive trade-mark of the person adopting it. (2) No person shall knowingly use or attempt to use any such brand without the written consent of the owner. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-8.

KRS 364.090 Branding of timber

364.090. Branding of timber (1) The owner, in using his brand, shall cause it to be plainly stamped or otherwise impressed upon each separate piece of timber intended to be branded. (2) No person shall fraudulently place any brand on timber not his own. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 1409-9, 1409-10.

KRS 364.100 Defacing brand

364.100. Defacing brand No person shall unlawfully cut out, cancel, obliterate or deface any brand recorded as provided in KRS 364.070 and placed upon the timber of another. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-11.

KRS 364.110 Conversion of branded timber

364.110. Conversion of branded timber No person shall unlawfully take, secrete, cut, saw, split up or destroy any timber branded as provided in this chapter, or remove it from the main stream on which it was taken up, with the intention of preventing the owner from finding it, or in any way convert it to his own use without the consent of the owner. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-12.

KRS 364.120 Branding of timber, effect as to third persons

364.120. Branding of timber, effect as to third persons (1) When a valid sale of standing timber has been made as provided in KRS 371.100 and the timber has been branded by the seller, or by another with his consent, with the brand of the purchaser, the sale shall have the same effect as to creditors and innocent purchasers as a recorded sale of land. (2) When a valid sale of timber other than standing timber has been made and the timber has been branded by the seller, or by another with his consent, with the brand of the purchaser, the sale shall have the same effect as a lodging for record of a conveyance of or charge upon personal property. Effective: October 1, 1942 History: Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 1409-14.

KRS 364.130 Liability of person entering upon and cutting timber growing upon land of another -- Measure of damages -- Exceptions with limitations on liability

364.130. Liability of person entering upon and cutting timber growing upon land of another -- Measure of damages -- Exceptions with limitations on liability (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (4) of this section, any person, regardless of state of mind or whether the person believes to be authorized or not, who cuts or saws down, or causes to be cut or sawed down to convert to his own use timber growing upon the land of another without legal right or without color of title in himself to the timber or to the land upon which the timber was growing shall pay to the rightful owner of the timber three (3) times the stumpage value of the timber and shall pay to the rightful owner of the property three (3) times the cost of any damages to the property as well as any legal costs incurred by the owner of the timber. (2) (a) If a defendant can certify that prior to cutting: 1. A signed statement was obtained from the person whom the defendant believed to be the owner of all trees scheduled to be cut that: a. All of the trees to be cut were on his property and that none were on the property of another; and b. He has given his permission, in writing, for the trees on his property to be cut; and 2. Either: a. A written agreement was made with owners of the land adjacent to the cut that the trees to be cut were not on their property; or b. Owners of the land adjacent to the cut were notified in writing, delivered by certified mail, restricted delivery, and return receipt requested, of the pending cut and they raised no objection, the court may render a judgment for no more than the reasonable value of the timber, actual damages caused to the property, and any legal costs incurred by the owner of the timber. (b) With respect to paragraph (a)2.b. of this subsection, if no written objection was received from the persons notified within seven (7) days from the date of signed receipt of mail, it shall be presumed, for the purposes of setting penalties only, that the notified owner had no objection to the proposed cut. (3) This section shall not be construed as repealing any of the provisions of KRS 514.030 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes and any penalties provided by this chapter shall be considered as additional thereto. (4) A residential property owner or farmland owner maintaining his or her fence row who unintentionally cuts, saws down, or otherwise removes the timber of an adjoining property owner as the result of a good-faith mistake in the location of an unmarked boundary line between the properties shall only be liable to the adjoining property owner for the reasonable value of the timber, the actual damages caused to the property, and any legal costs incurred by the adjoining property owner if the cutting of the timber is later found to be unauthorized by a court of competent jurisdiction. Effective:June 29, 2017 History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 386, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1994. -- Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 188, sec. 281, effective July 15, 1980. -- Created 1956 Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 1, effective May 18, 1956.

KRS 364.990 Penalties

364.990. Penalties (1) Any person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (2) of KRS 364.050 shall be guilty of a Class D felony. (2) Any person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (2) of KRS 364.080 shall be guilty of a violation, and shall be liable to the owner of the brand for all damage caused by the use of the brand. (3) Any person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (2) of KRS 364.090 shall, for each offense, be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. (4) Any person who violates any of the provisions of KRS 364.100 shall, for each offense, be guilty of a Class D felony. (5) Any person who violates any of the provisions of KRS 364.110 shall be guilty of a Class D felony. Effective: July 14, 1992 History: Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 463, sec. 41, effective July 14, 1992. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 1409-8, 1409-10, 1409-11, 1409-12, 1409-16.

Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=39073Fetched: 10/20/2026