The sheriff shall pay the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges, after payment of the costs and the amount due the seizing creditor. When the sum remaining after payment of the costs and the amount due the seizing creditor is insufficient to pay such inferior claims in full, the sheriff may deposit the remainder with the court and proceed by contradictory motion against the inferior creditors to have their claims referred to the proceeds of the sale.
Art. 2377.Inferior Mortgages; Payment; Reference to Proceeds
Book IV. Execution of Judgments · Title II. Money Judgments · Chapter 3. The Adjudication and Its Effect · Enacted 1989 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 2377 has the sheriff pay the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges out of the sale proceeds after the costs and the seizing creditor are paid, and lets the sheriff deposit any shortfall with the court and proceed by contradictory motion when the remaining funds cannot cover every inferior claim in full.
Full Text of Art. 2377
Amendment History
Acts 1989, No. 137, §18, eff. 9/1/1989.
Plain-English Summary
Once the seizing creditor is paid under Article 2373's priority order, whatever remains from the sale is earmarked for the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges recorded against the property. Article 2377 has the sheriff pay those claims directly, in the ordinary case where the money on hand is enough to satisfy all of them.
The article also anticipates the harder case, where several inferior creditors are competing for a fund that will not stretch to cover every one of them in full. Rather than guessing at how to divide a shortfall, the sheriff can deposit the remaining proceeds with the court and proceed by contradictory motion against the inferior creditors, asking the court to sort out how much of the remaining fund each of their claims is entitled to receive.
This procedure keeps the sheriff out of the business of adjudicating competing claims of ranking or priority among the inferior creditors themselves. That determination belongs to the court, on a proper motion, with every affected inferior creditor given the chance to be heard before the remaining proceeds are divided up.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what order does the sheriff pay inferior liens after a Louisiana sheriff's sale?
Only after the costs and the amount due the seizing creditor are paid under Article 2373. What remains goes toward the inferior security interests, mortgages, liens, and privileges.
What happens if the leftover proceeds aren't enough to pay every inferior creditor in full?
Article 2377 lets the sheriff deposit the remaining funds with the court and proceed by contradictory motion against the inferior creditors, so the court can decide how the shortfall is allocated among their claims.
Does the sheriff decide which inferior creditor gets paid first when funds run short?
No. Rather than making that ranking determination alone, the sheriff can turn the dispute over to the court through a contradictory motion against the inferior creditors.
What does "referred to the proceeds" mean for an inferior creditor's claim?
It refers to the court determining, through the contradictory motion process, what portion of the remaining sale proceeds an inferior creditor's claim is entitled to receive.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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