Except as provided in KRS 367.620 to 367.628:
(1) If, in any contract in the amount of two million dollars ($2,000,000) or more involving the improvement of real estate, a certain amount or percentage of the contract is held back by the owner, that retained amount shall be deposited in a separate escrow account with a bank or trust company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Kentucky;
(2) As of the time of the deposit of the retained funds, they shall become the sole and separate property of the contractor to whom they are owed;
(3) The escrow agent shall promptly invest all escrowed principal in obligations selected by the escrow agent in its discretion;
(4) Upon satisfactory completion of the contract, to be evidenced by a written release by the owner, all funds accumulated in the escrow account, together with any interest thereon, shall be paid immediately to the contractor to whom it is owed;
(5) The escrow agent shall be compensated for its services in an amount agreed to by the owner, contractor, and escrow agent. The compensation shall be a commercially reasonable fee commensurate with fees being charged for handling of escrow accounts of similar size and duration. The compensation shall be paid from the escrow account;
(6) In the event the owner fails or refuses to execute the release provided for in subsection (4) of this section, then the contractor shall have a cause of action against the owner in a court of proper jurisdiction; and (7) This section shall not apply to contracts with the Commonwealth, any city, county, charter county government, urban-county government, unified local government, or consolidated local government, any other political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Commonwealth, or school boards.