英文法律词典 A-128

ATTACHMENT¹, remedies. A writ² issued by a court of competent jurisdiction³, commanding the sheriff or other proper officer to seize any property; credit, or right, belonging to the defendant⁴, in whatever hands the same may be found, to satisfy the demand which the plaintiff has against him.

2. This writ always issues before judgment⁵, and is intended to compel an appearance in this respect it differs from an execution. In some of the states this process can be issued only against absconding⁶ debtors⁸, or those who conceal⁹ themselves; in others it is issued in the first instance, so that the property attached may respond to the exigency¹⁰ of the writ, and satisfy the judgment.

3. There are two kinds of attachment in Pennsylvania, the foreign attachment, and the domestic attachment. l. The foreign attachment is a mode of proceeding¹¹ by a creditor¹² against the property of his debtor⁷, when the debtor is out of the jurisdiction of the state, and is not an inhabitant of the same. The object of this process is in the first instance to compel an appearance by the debtor, although his property may even eventually be made liable to the amount of the plaintiff Is claim. It will be proper to consider, 1. by whom it be issued; 2. against what property 3. mode of proceeding. 1. The plaintiff must be a creditor of the defendant; the claim of the plaintiff need not, however, be technically¹³ a debt, but it may be such on which an action of assumpsit would lie but an attachment will not lie for a demand which arises ex delicto; or when special bail¹⁴ would not be regularly required. Serg. on Att. 51. 2. The writ of attachment may be issued against the real and personal estate of any person not residing within the commonwealth¹⁵, and not being within the county in which such writ may issue, at the time. of the issuing thereof. And proceedings¹⁶ may be had against persons convicted of crime, and sentenced to imprisonment¹⁷. 3. The writ of attachment is in general terms, not specifying¹⁸ in the body of it the name of the garnishee, or the property to be attached, but commanding the officer to attach the defendant, by all and singular his goods and chattels¹⁹, in whose hands or possession soever the same may be found in his bailiwick, so that he be and appear before the court at a certain time to answer, &c. The foreign attachment is issued solely²⁰ for the benefit of the plaintiff.

4. – 2. The domestic attachment is issued by the court of common pleas of the county in which any debtor, being an inhabitant of the commonwealth, may reside; if such debtor shall have absconded²¹ from the place of his usual abode²² within the same, or shall have remained absent from the commonwealth, or shall have confined himself to his own house, or concealed²³ himself elsewhere, with a design, in either case, to defraud²⁴ his creditors²⁵. It is issued on an oath or affirmation, previously²⁶ made by a creditor of such person, or by some one on his bebalf, of the truth of his debt, and of the facts upon which the attachment may be founded. Any other creditor of such person, upon affidavit²⁷ of his debt as aforesaid, may suggest his name upon the record, and thereupon such creditor may proceed to prosecute²⁸ his said writ, if the person suing the same shall refuse or neglect to proceed thereon, or if he fail to establish his right to prosecute the same, as a creditor of the defendant. The property attached is vested in trustees to be appointed by the court, who are, after giving six months public notice of their appointment, to distribute the assets attached among the creditors under certain regulations prescribed by the act of assembly. Perishable²⁹ goods way be sold under an order of the court, both under a foreign and domestic attachment. Vide Serg. on Attachments³⁰ Whart. Dig. title Attachment.

5. By the code of practice of Louisiana, an attachment in the hands of third person is declared to be a mandate³¹ which a creditor obtains from a competent officer, commanding the seizure³² of any property, credit or right, belonging to his debtor, in whatever hands they may be found, to satisfy the demand which he intends to bring against him. A creditor may obtain such attachment of the property of his debtor, in the following cases. 1. When such debtor is about permanently³³ leaving the state, without there being a possibility, in the ordinary course of judicial³⁴ proceedings, of obtaining or executing judgment against him previous to, his departure; or when such debtor has already left the state never again to return. 2. When such debtor resides out of the state. 3. When he conceals³⁵ himself to avoid being cited or forced to answer to the suit intended to be brought against him. Articles 239, 240.

6. By the local laws of some of the New England states, and particularly of the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, personal property and real estate may be attached upon mesne process to respond the exigency of the writ, and satisfy the judgment. In such cases it is the common practice for the officer to bail the goods attached, to some person, who is usually a friend of the debtor, upon an express or implied agreement on his part, to have them forthcoming on demand, or in time to respond the judgment, when the execution thereon shall be issued. Story on Bailm. 124. As to the rights and duties of the officer or bailor in such cases, and as to the rights and duties of the bailee, who is conmmonly called the receiptor, see 2 Mass. 514; 9 Mass. 112 11 Mass. 211; 6 Johns. R. 195 9 Mass. 104, 265; 10 Mass. 125 15 Mass. 310; 1 Pick. R. 232, 389. See Metc. & Perk³⁶. Dig. tit. Absent and Absconding Debtors.

ATTACHMENT OF PRIVILEGE, Eng. law. A process by which a man by virtue³⁷ of his privilege, calls another to litigate in that court to which he himself belongs; and who has the privilege to answer there.