Texas Attachment Law

A writ of original attachment in Texas is a post judgment remedy, often referred to as a "prejudgment turnover". It is a remedy to seize property of the debtor held by a debtor prior to judgment when there is not a security agreement covering the specific personal property. It is available to a plaintiff in Texas in a suit if:

1. the defendant is justly indebted to the plaintiff;
2. the attachment is not sought for the purpose of injuring or harassing the defendant;
3. the plaintiff will probably lose his debt unless the writ of attachment is issued; and
4. specific grounds for the writ exist under Section 61.002.

An attachment, therefore, is not available in all situations. Specific grounds for an attachment exist under Section 61.002 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code if:

1. the defendant is not a resident of this state or is a foreign corporation or is acting as such;
2. the defendant is about to move from this state permanently and has refused to pay or secure the debt due the plaintiff;
3. the defendant is in hiding so that ordinary process of law cannot be served on him;
4. the defendant has hidden or is about to hide his property for the purpose of defrauding his creditors;
5. the defendant is about to remove his property from this state without leaving an amount sufficient to pay his debts;
6. the defendant is about to remove all or part of his property from the county in which the suit is brought with the intent to defraud his creditors;
7. the defendant has disposed of or is about to dispose of all or part of his property with the intent to defraud his creditors;
8. the defendant is about to convert all or part of his property into money for the purpose of placing it beyond the reach of his creditors; or
9. the defendant owes the plaintiff for property obtained by the defendant under false pretenses.

Attachment remedies are rarely used since they require a bond and may provide for liability to the Creditor if there is a wrongful attachment.

If you have a legal issue related to Attachment, please contact Marc Lippincott for an appointment to discuss.