2013 Mississippi Code
Title 15 - LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS AND PREVENTION OF FRAUDS
Chapter 1 - LIMITATION OF ACTIONS
§ 15-1-81 - Actions on nonnegotiable promissory notes [For effective date and applicability, see subsection (6)]

(1) An action to enforce the obligations of a party to pay a nonnegotiable promissory note payable at a definite time must be commenced within six (6) years after the due date or dates stated in the promissory note, or if a due date is accelerated, within six (6) years after the accelerated date.

(2) If demand for payment is made to the maker of a nonnegotiable promissory note payable on demand, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay the promissory note must be commenced within six (6) years after the demand. If no demand for payment is made to the maker, an action to enforce the promissory note is barred if neither principal nor interest on the promissory note has been paid for a continuous period of ten (10) years.

(3) For purposes of this section, a "nonnegotiable promissory note" is an unconditional written undertaking to pay absolutely and in any event a fixed amount of money signed by the person undertaking to pay the money that is not an "instrument" under Section 75-3-104(b). Nonnegotiable promissory notes for purposes of this section include, but are not limited to, promissory notes that: (a) bear a variable rate of interest or provide for interest by reference to information not contained in the promissory note; (b) provide for interest after default; (c) are nonrecourse to the person undertaking to pay the money; or (d) qualify as "instruments" under Section 75-9-102(a)(47).

(4) This section shall not apply to negotiable promissory notes, drafts, checks, certificates of deposit or any other instrument or item for which Section 75-3-118 provides the applicable statute of limitations. Neither a lease nor a security agreement is a promissory note for purposes of this section. A promissory note is not investment property as defined in Section 75-9-102(a)(49), a letter of credit, or writings that evidence a right to payment arising out of the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card. It is the intention of this section that a "note," as defined in Section 75-3-104(e), and nonnegotiable promissory notes, as defined in this section, shall have the same statutes of limitations.

(5) This section shall not apply to obligations arising from retail installment contracts. For purposes of this section, a "retail installment contract" is a contract for the sale of goods under which the buyer makes periodic payments and the seller retains a security interest in the goods. For the purposes of this section, "goods" have the same meaning as the definition of "goods" in Section 75-9-102(a)(44).

(6) This section takes effect on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to all nonnegotiable promissory notes for which the statute of limitations in effect immediately prior to that date has not run. This section shall have no application to promissory notes for which the statute of limitations has run prior to July 1, 2012.