Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-2-307

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-2-307, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Initiation of action by the attorney general - Notice of pendency of action - Court proceedings

Official statutory text

(a) Upon receipt of a report from the commissioner of agriculture under § 66-2-304(d) or the secretary of state under § 66-2-306(d) , the attorney general and reporter may initiate an action in the circuit court of any county in which the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located. The attorney general and reporter may also initiate an action to enforce this part based upon the receipt of information by means other than a report from the commissioner of agriculture or secretary of state that the attorney general and reporter determines indicates that a violation of this part has occurred. (b) The attorney general and reporter shall file a notice of the pendency of an action initiated under subsection (a) with the register of deeds of each county in which any of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located. (c) (1) In an action initiated under subsection (a), if the court finds that the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this part, then the court shall enter an order so declaring and shall file a copy of the order with the register of deeds of each county in which any portion of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located. (2) If the court finds that an interest in the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this part, then the court shall declare the agricultural land or non-agricultural land escheated to the state and order the sale of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in the manner provided by law for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate for default of payment. The proceeds of the sale must be used to pay court costs, and the remaining funds, if any, must be disbursed to lien holders, in the order of priority, except for liens which under the terms of the sale are to remain on the land. Added by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 995,s 1, eff. 1/1/2025.
(a) Upon receipt of a report from the commissioner of agriculture under § 66-2-304(d) or the secretary of state under § 66-2-306(d) , the attorney general and reporter may initiate an action in the circuit court of any county in which the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located. The attorney general and reporter may also initiate an action to enforce this part based upon the receipt of information by means other than a report from the commissioner of agriculture or secretary of state that the attorney general and reporter determines indicates that a violation of this part has occurred.
(b) The attorney general and reporter shall file a notice of the pendency of an action initiated under subsection (a) with the register of deeds of each county in which any of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located.
(c) (1) In an action initiated under subsection (a), if the court finds that the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this part, then the court shall enter an order so declaring and shall file a copy of the order with the register of deeds of each county in which any portion of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located. (2) If the court finds that an interest in the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this part, then the court shall declare the agricultural land or non-agricultural land escheated to the state and order the sale of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in the manner provided by law for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate for default of payment. The proceeds of the sale must be used to pay court costs, and the remaining funds, if any, must be disbursed to lien holders, in the order of priority, except for liens which under the terms of the sale are to remain on the land.
nd order the sale of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in the manner provided by law for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate for default of payment. The proceeds of the sale must be used to pay court costs, and the remaining funds, if any, must be disbursed to lien holders, in the order of priority, except for liens which under the terms of the sale are to remain on the land.
(1) In an action initiated under subsection (a), if the court finds that the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this part, then the court shall enter an order so declaring and shall file a copy of the order with the register of deeds of each county in which any portion of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land is located.
(2) If the court finds that an interest in the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this part, then the court shall declare the agricultural land or non-agricultural land escheated to the state and order the sale of the agricultural land or non-agricultural land in the manner provided by law for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate for default of payment. The proceeds of the sale must be used to pay court costs, and the remaining funds, if any, must be disbursed to lien holders, in the order of priority, except for liens which under the terms of the sale are to remain on the land.
Added by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 995,s 1, eff. 1/1/2025.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.