Grounds for Attachment

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Remedies and Special Proceedings
  4. Attachment and Replevy
  5. Grounds for Attachment

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Any person having a debt or demand due at the commencement of an action, or a plaintiff after action for any cause has been brought, and either before or after judgment, may sue out an attachment at law or in equity, against the property of a debtor or defendant, in the following cases:

  1. Where the debtor or defendant resides out of the state;
  2. Where the debtor or defendant is about to remove, or has removed, the debtor's or defendant's person or property from the state;
  3. Where the debtor or defendant has removed, or is removing, the debtor's or defendant's person out of the county privately;
  4. Where the debtors or defendants concealed is so that the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon the debtor or defendant;
  5. Where the debtor or defendant absconds, or absconded concealing the debtor's or defendant's person or property;
  6. Where the debtor or defendant has fraudulently disposed of, or is about fraudulently to dispose of, the property;
  7. Where any person liable for any debt or demand, residing out of the state, dies, leaving property in the state; or
  8. Where the debtor or defendant is a foreign corporation which has no agent in this state upon whom process may be served by any person bringing suit against such corporation; provided, that the plaintiff or complainant need only make oath of the justness of the claim, that the debtor or defendant is a foreign corporation and that it has no agent in the county where the property sought to be attached is situated upon whom process can be served.

Code 1858, § 3455 (deriv. Acts 1794, ch. 1, § 19, 21; 1835-1836, ch. 43, § 1; 1837-1838, ch. 166, § 1; 1843-1844, ch. 29, § 1; 1851-1852, ch. 365, § 10); Shan., § 5211; Code 1932, § 9396; Acts 1968, ch. 523, § 1 (17.05); T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 23-601.

Cross-References. Attachment after creditor's bill, §29-12-102.

Exemption of public employees' retirement benefits, § 8-3516 (Vol. 3 Appendix).

Exemption of welfare grants, §§71-2-216,71-3-121,71-4-117,71-4-1112.

Mechanic's lien, enforcement by attachment, §66-11-126.

Powers of general sessions judge, §§16-15-401,16-15-804,16-15-805,16-15-806.

Real defendant in action against attaching officer, §§20-1-117,20-1-118.

Registration of abstract, §§25-5-107,25-5-108,25-5-109.

Seizure of person or property, Tenn. R. Civ. P. 64.

Sheriff's fee, §8-21-901.

Venue of actions, §20-4-103.

Textbooks. Gibson's Suits in Chancery (7th ed., Inman), §§ 328, 407, 414, 418, 423.

Pritchard on Wills and Administration of Estates (4th ed., Phillips and Robinson), § 753.

Tennessee Forms (Robinson, Ramsey and Harwell), No. 1-64-2.

Tennessee Jurisprudence, 3 Tenn. Juris., Attachment and Garnishment, §§ 4-12, 25, 30, 35, 73, 77, 86, 103, 106-112, 120-132, 138, 144; 7 Tenn. Juris., Corporations, § 121.

Law Reviews.

Commencing an Action by Garnishment, 23 Tenn. L. Rev. 211.

Constitutional Law — Pinsky v. Duncan: Due Process and the Death of a Prejudgment Attachment Statute, 21 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 413 (1991).

Domestic Relations — 1960 Tennessee Survey (William J. Harbison), 13 Vand. L. Rev. 1121.

Enforcement of Judgments in Tennessee, 22 Tenn. L. Rev. 873.

Recent Developments in Tennessee and Federal Procedure (Donald F. Paine), 36 Tenn. L. Rev. 276.

Replevin — Prior Notice and Hearing — Due Process, 40 Tenn. L. Rev. 125.

The Constitutionality of Prejudgment Seizure of Property Under Tennessee Law (Roger W. Dickson), 38 Tenn. L. Rev. 575.

The Tennessee Court System (Frederic S. Le Clercq), 8 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 189.

Comparative Legislation. Replevin:

Ala.  Code §6-6-100 et seq.

Ark.  Code §18-60-809 et seq.

Ga. O.C.G.A. §18-3-30 et seq.

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 426.450 et seq.

Miss.  Code Ann. §11-37-101 et seq.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 533.010 et seq.

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-472 et seq.

Va. Code § 8.01-218 et seq.

Cited: Gaines v. Fourth Nat'l Bank, 52 S.W. 467, 1898 Tenn. Ch. App. LEXIS 158 (1898); Pinkerton v. Fox, 23 Tenn. App. 159, 129 S.W.2d 514, 1939 Tenn. App. LEXIS 22 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1939); Coffey v. Durand, 27 Tenn. App. 704, 167 S.W.2d 684, 1940 Tenn. App. LEXIS 96 (1940); Anderson v. Ellington, 300 F. Supp. 789, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12591 (M.D. Tenn. 1969); Maxwell v. Hixson, 383 F. Supp. 320, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6133 (E.D. Tenn. 1974); General Electric Supply Co. v. Arlen Realty & Development Corp., 546 S.W.2d 210, 1977 Tenn. LEXIS 515 (Tenn. 1977); Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank v. Auer, 514 F. Supp. 631, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15593 (E.D. Tenn. 1977); Bodin Apparel, Inc. v. Lowe, 614 S.W.2d 571, 1980 Tenn. App. LEXIS 422 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1980); W. & O. Constr. Co. v. IVS Corp., 688 S.W.2d 67, 1984 Tenn. App. LEXIS 3187 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1984); Union Export Co. v. N.I.B. Intermarket, A.B., 786 S.W.2d 628, 1990 Tenn. LEXIS 102 (Tenn. 1990); Flake v. Flake, — S.W.3d —, 2010 Tenn. App. LEXIS 348 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 24, 2010).


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