A defendant against whom a judgment is rendered for land may, at any time before execution, present a petition to the court rendering the judgment, stating that he, or those under whom he claims, while holding the premises under a color of title believed to be good, have made permanent improvements thereon, and praying that he may be allowed for the improvements, over and above the value of the use and occupation of the land. The court may, if satisfied of the probable truth of the allegation, suspend the execution of the judgment and impanel a jury to assess the damages of the plaintiff and the allowance to the defendant for the improvements. In any such action this inquiry and assessment may be made upon the trial of the cause.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-340
Petition by claimant; execution suspended; issues found
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case 163 N.C. App. 748 - Atlantic & East Carolina Railway Co. v. Wheatly Oil Co. (2004)
Most recently applied in Camden County v. Northeastern Community Development Corp. (May 2017)
1871-2, c. 147; Code, s. 473; Rev., s. 652; C.S., s. 699.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: North Carolina General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain North Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.