Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (2026)

Limitations of suits by and against the state, counties and municipal corporations

✓ current as of July 2026
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Statutes of limitation in civil cases shall not run against the state, or any subdivision or municipal corporation thereof, except that any judgment or decree rendered in favor of the state, or any subdivision or municipal corporation thereof, shall not be a lien on the property of the defendant therein for a longer period than seven (7) years from the date of filing notice of the lien, unless an action is brought before the expiration of such time or unless the state or such subdivision or municipal corporation refiles notice of the lien. There shall be no limit upon the number of times that the state, or any subdivision or municipal corporation thereof, may refile such notices of lien.

The statutes of limitation shall run in favor of the state, the counties, and municipal corporations beginning at the time when the plaintiff first had the right to demand payment of the officer or board authorized to allow or disallow the claim sued upon. The provisions of this section shall apply to all pending and subsequently filed notices of liens.

Codes, 1892, § 2736; 1906, § 3096; Hemingway's 1917, § 2460; 1930, § 2291; 1942, § 721; Laws, 1991, ch. 503, § 1, eff. 4/3/1991.


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 29 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1978–2022 · leading case: Enroth v. Mem'l Hosp. at Gulfport, 566 So. 2d 202 (Miss. 1990).
Enroth v. Mem'l Hosp. at Gulfport, 566 So. 2d 202 (Miss. 1990). · cites it 10× “4, § 104, and Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (1972). Behaving sensibly, the parties withheld the amount of the accrued judgment debt — some $2,543.”
Jones Cnty. Sch. Dist. v. Mississippi Dep't of Revenue, 111 So. 3d 588 (Miss. 2013). · cites it 6× “Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (Rev.2012). ¶ 74.”
Murphree v. Aberdeen-Monroe Cnty. Hosp., 671 So. 2d 1300 (Miss. 1996). · cites it 9× “The hospital relied on Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (1972), in order to prevent being barred by the one-year statute of limitation.”
Par. v. Frazier, 195 F.3d 761 (5th Cir. 1999). · cites it 4× “10 We agree with the district court that the suit by defendants was not time barred because of the applicability of Miss. Code Ann. 15-1-51 and Miss. Const. Art.”
Fiddle, Inc. v. Shannon, 834 So. 2d 39 (Miss. 2003). · cites it 6× “As Fiddle had no right to demand repayment of any monies paid as required by Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (1995) until either September 9 or September 11, 1997, when the bank paid the check and debited Fiddle's account, we find that Fiddle's action was brought on a timely basis and…”
Bolivar Leflore Med. All. v. Williams, 938 So. 2d 1222 (Miss. 2006). · cites it 2× “Section 15-1-51). In Brister v. Leflore County, 156 Miss.”
Grant v. State, 686 So. 2d 1078 (Miss. 1996). · cites it 3× “According to the bondholders, demand against the Auditor of Public Accounts was a condition precedent before the statute of limitations could begin to run.”
Par. v. Frazier, 195 F.3d 761 (5th Cir. 1999). · cites it 4× “We agree with the district court that the suit by defendants was not time barred because of the applicability of Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-51 and Miss. Const.”
Town of Bolton v. Chevron Oil Co., 919 So. 2d 1101 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “The landowners argue that their common law claims should be stayed because the prescriptive periods governing these actions may expire before the Board takes final action. ¶ 30. The landowners' argument is inapplicable to the Town of Bolton's claims because, in civil cases,…”
Jones v. Baptist Mem'l Hosp.-golden, 735 So. 2d 993 (Miss. 1999). · cites it 2× “Further, no statute of limitations is applicable to Lowndes County since no limitations period is to run against the state or any subdivision thereof pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-51 . Jones filed his first complaint on July 15, 1994, thereby commencing the action.”
PERS v. Langham, 812 So. 2d 969 (Miss. 2002). · cites it 2× “Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (1995) states that the statute starts to run "in favor of the state,.”
H. Kenneth Lefoldt, Jr v. Donald Rentfro, 241 So. 3d 565 (Miss. 2017). · cites it 8× “” Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-51 (Rev. 2012). 8 part, limited punitive damages “[i]n any civil action where an entitlement to punitive damages shall have been established under applicable laws .”
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