§ 64.051.Application of Funds; Preferences

A priority scheme, and where a claim falls in it decides whether it is paid.

Court costs of suit come first — the expense of the proceeding itself.

Wages of employees due by the receiver come second.

That placement is the section’s most important choice. People who worked for the receivership rank ahead of every supplier, contractor and judgment creditor, which is what allows a receiver to keep a business staffed.

Debts for materials and supplies purchased by the receiver for improvement of the property come third, and debts for improvements made during the receivership fourth.

Both categories describe money spent making the property more valuable, and ranking them high is what persuades anyone to extend credit to a receivership.

Fifth is a mixed class: claims and accounts on contracts made by the receiver, personal injury claims and claims for stock accruing during the receivership, and judgments against the receiver for personal injuries and for stock killed.

"Stock" there means livestock, and the phrase is another railroad survival — animals killed on the line were a routine claim.

Last come judgments recovered in suits brought before the receiver was appointed.

Pre-existing judgment creditors rank behind everyone, which is the scheme’s central judgment: claims that arose from operating the property during the receivership are preferred to claims that existed before it began.

All six have a preference lien on the earnings, and the court shall ensure that earnings are paid in the order listed — an active duty rather than a default.