(1) Any sheriff or like officer, in whose hands a writ of execution is placed, who fails, without reasonable excuse, to return the writ to the office where it was issued within thirty days after the return day, shall, with his sureties or the personal representatives, heirs or devisees of either, be liable jointly and severally to the plaintiff in the execution for the amount of the execution, with thirty percent damages thereon and the costs of recovery. The remedy shall be the same as provided in KRS 426.360.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any case in which the collecting officer had, at the commencement of the proceeding, paid the plaintiff the amount of the execution. If he had paid in part, then the thirty percent damages shall only be adjudged against him upon the portion unpaid.
(3) If the defendant in an execution is insolvent, and has no property in the county out of which the execution or any part thereof can be made, the collecting officer shall not be held liable for the amount of the execution for failing to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, but shall be liable for thirty percent of the amount of the execution.