Virginia Code 16.1-105: Attachments
The proceedings on any attachment brought in a court not of record shall conform to the provisions of Chapter 20 of Title 8.01, but if an attachment is returned executed and the defendant has not been served with a copy thereof, and the amount claimed in the attachment does not exceed $500, exclusive of interest and any attorney’s fees contracted for in the instrument, the judge or clerk of the court, upon affidavit in conformity with §§ 8.01-316 and 8.01-317, shall forthwith cause a copy of the attachment to be posted at the front door of the courthouse of the county or the front door of the courtroom of the city or town wherein the attachment was issued, and shall file a certificate of the fact with the papers in the case, and, in addition to such posting, the plaintiff in the attachment or his attorney shall give to the judge or his clerk the last known address or place of abode of the defendant, verified by affidavit, and the judge or clerk shall forthwith mail a copy of the attachment to the defendant at his last known address or place of abode, or if the defendant be a corporation, at its last known address. The mailing of the copy as herein required shall be certified by the judge or clerk in writing, and such certification shall be filed with the papers in the case. Fifteen days after the copy of the attachment has been posted and a copy thereof mailed as herein required, the court may hear and decide the attachment. If the amount claimed in the attachment is more than $500, exclusive of interest and any attorney’s fees contracted for in the instrument, an order of publication shall be entered and published and other proceedings had in accordance with the provisions of §§ 8.01-316, 8.01-317, 8.01-318, and 8.01-320. Personal service on a nonresident defendant out of this Commonwealth as provided in § 8.01-320 shall have the same effect, and no other, as an order of publication duly executed or the posting and mailing of a copy of the attachment as provided herein.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 16.1-105
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
- Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
If any such attachment is levied on real estate, the court shall not take cognizance of the case, but the same shall be forthwith removed to a court of record having jurisdiction of other actions removed therefrom, to be further proceeded with in such court of record as if the attachment had originated therein.
1956, c. 555; 2010, c. 343.