Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (2026)
Individual liability for unlawful expenditures; disposition of recovered funds
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) Any elected or appointed public officer of an agency or a governing authority, or the executive head, any employee or agent of an agency or governing authority, who appropriates or authorizes the expenditure of any money to an object not authorized by law, shall be liable personally for up to the full amount of the appropriation or expenditure as will fully and completely compensate and repay such public funds for any actual loss caused by such appropriation or expenditure, to be recovered by suit in the name of the governmental entity involved, or in the name of any person who is a taxpayer suing for the use of the governmental entity involved, and such taxpayer shall be liable for costs in such case. In the case of a governing board of an agency or governing authority, only the individual members of the governing board who voted for the appropriation or authorization for expenditure shall be liable under this subsection.
- (2) No individual member, officer, employee or agent of any agency or board of a governing authority shall let contracts or purchase commodities or equipment except in the manner provided by law, including the provisions of Section 25-9-120(3), Mississippi Code of 1972, relating to personal and professional service contracts by state agencies; nor shall any such agency or board of a governing authority ratify any such contract or purchase made by any individual member, officer, employee or agent thereof, or pay for the same out of public funds unless such contract or purchase was made in the manner provided by law; provided, however, that any vendor who, in good faith, delivers commodities or printing or performs any services under a contract to or for the agency or governing authority, shall be entitled to recover the fair market value of such commodities, printing or services, notwithstanding some error or failure by the agency or governing authority to follow the law, if the contract was for an object authorized by law and the vendor had no control of, participation in, or actual knowledge of the error or failure by the agency or governing authority.
- (3) The individual members, officers, employees or agents of any agency or governing authority as defined in Section 31-7-1 causing any public funds to be expended, any contract made or let, any payment made on any contract or any purchase made, or any payment made, in any manner whatsoever, contrary to or without complying with any statute of the State of Mississippi, regulating or prescribing the manner in which such contracts shall be let, payment on any contract made, purchase made, or any other payment or expenditure made, shall be liable, individually, and upon their official bond, for compensatory damages, in such sum up to the full amount of such contract, purchase, expenditure or payment as will fully and completely compensate and repay such public funds for any actual loss caused by such unlawful expenditure.
- (4) In addition to the foregoing provision, for any violation of any statute of the State of Mississippi prescribing the manner in which contracts shall be let, purchases made, expenditure or payment made, any individual member, officer, employee or agent of any agency or governing authority who shall substantially depart from the statutory method of letting contracts, making payments thereon, making purchases or expending public funds shall be liable, individually and on his official bond, for penal damages in such amount as may be assessed by any court of competent jurisdiction, up to three (3) times the amount of the contract, purchase, expenditure or payment. The person so charged may offer mitigating circumstances to be considered by the court in the assessment of any penal damages.
- (5) Any sum recovered under the provisions hereof shall be credited to the account from which such unlawful expenditure was made.
- (6) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1) of this section, any individual member of an agency or governing authority as defined in Section 31-7-1 shall not be individually liable under this section if he voted against payment for contracts let or purchases made contrary to law and had his vote recorded in the official minutes of the board or governing authority at the time of such vote, or was absent at the time of such vote.
Laws, 1974, ch. 444, §§ 1-3; Laws, 1980, ch. 440, § 15; Laws, 1981, ch. 306, § 4; Laws, 1988 Ex Sess, ch. 14, § 68; Laws, 1997, ch. 609, § 8, eff. 6/29/1997.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1987–2023 · leading case: Falco Lime, Inc. v. Mayor & Aldermen of City of Vicksburg, 836 So. 2d 711 (Miss. 2002).
Falco Lime, Inc. v. Mayor & Aldermen of City of Vicksburg, 836 So. 2d 711 (Miss. 2002). “There, we held that a claim for relief under Miss.Code Ann. § 31-7-57 may be joined with an appeal under Miss.”
Richardson v. Canton Farm Equip., Inc., 608 So. 2d 1240 (Miss. 1992). “440, § 15 (1980); codified as Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (1) (Supp. 1984).”
Canton Farm Equip., Inc. v. Richardson, 501 So. 2d 1098 (Miss. 1987). “00 in penalties, individually and on their bonds, in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (Supp. 1985). Apparently the Madison County Board of Supervisors had on at least four separate occasions advertised for bids for the purchase of two backhoes by the county.”
City of Durant v. Laws Const. Co., Inc., 721 So. 2d 598 (Miss. 1998). “See Miss.Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (1990). This Court ruled that the plaintiff had standing.”
State Ex Rel. Pittman v. Ladner, 512 So. 2d 1271 (Miss. 1987). “A leading treatise defines a vested right as follows: In order to become vested, the right must be a contract right, a property right, or a right arising from a transaction *1276 in the nature of a contract which has become perfected to the degree that it is not dependent on the…”
Shad White, in his Off. Capacity as Auditor for the State of Mississippi v. Jernigan Copeland Attorneys, PLLC (Miss. 2022). “Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (2) (Rev. 2020).”
Warnock & Assocs., LLC v. City of Canton, Mississippi (Miss. Ct. App. 2021). “” Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (2). 16 ¶29. Warnock argues that “[a] remedy by statute will not fail if the pleading states sufficient allegations which notify the court and the opposing party that the allegations fall within the statute, even though the statute is not named in the…”
Bd. of Aldermen of The Town of Tutwiler, Mississippi v. State of Mississippi, Off. of the State Auditor (Miss. Ct. App. 2023). “” Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (1) (Rev. 2020).”
Falco Lime, Inc. v. Mayor & Bd. of Aldermen (Miss. 1999). “There, we held that a claim for relief under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 may be joined with an appeal under Miss.”
Inner-Off., Inc. v. City of Jackson, Mississippi (Miss. 1994). “Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (3) (Supp. 1996).”
Application Data Sys., Inc. v. Paul Rowell (Miss. 1993). “Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (1) (1972) (empasis added).”
City of Durant, Mississippi v. Laws Constr. Co., Inc. (Miss. 1994). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-57 (1990). This Court ruled that the plaintiff had standing.”
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