Practice Areas

Prejudgment relief

Texas provides various means with which to aid in the collection of debts during the pendency of a lawsuit.  These are generally referred to as prejudgment remedies.  The most common of these include sequestration, attachment and garnishment.

Sequestration:

Sequestration is the process by which, during the course of a lawsuit, funds or property are removed from the person or entity in possession of same and held by a third party, for example a Sheriff or Constable, during the pendency of the litigation.  The most common type of sequestration is filed in conjunction with a lawsuit for the judicial foreclosure of a security interest in a vehicle or piece of equipment. 

Generally, the procedure for this type of relief involves the filing of a lawsuit and an application for a writ of sequestration supported by an affidavit.  An ex parte (a hearing or communication with the court held by one party without giving notice to party against which relief is sought) motion is also filed requesting a hearing.  If the motion is granted by the judge, an Order for issuance of the writ of sequestration is entered which sets a bond amount to be secured by the party seeking the writ.  Once the bond is secured and filed with the clerk of the court, the writ will issue and be served upon the party holding the property sought.  If that party does not file its own replevy bond within a certain time, the property will be transferred to the other party.  

Attachment:

Attachment is the process by which, during the course of a lawsuit, property is seized pursuant to a court order for the purpose of securing the satisfaction of a judgment yet to be rendered.  Attachment is generally used when the party seeking attachment has no security or ownership interest in the property it seeks to attach and there is a real concern that such property will be removed or hidden by the party in possession with the intent to defraud or delay its creditors.

Generally, the procedure for this type of relief involves the filing of a lawsuit and an application for a writ of attachment supported by an affidavit.  An ex parte hearing is then held and, if the application is granted by the judge, an Order for issuance of the writ of attachment is entered which sets a bond amount to be secured by the party seeking the writ.  Unlike a sequestration, the attachment statutes provide that a defendant may replevy attached property at any time prior to the rendering of a final judgment.

Garnishment:
 
Garnishment is the process by which a creditor seeks to obtain money or property of a third party which is owed by that party to the debtor. 

A garnishment action is maintained apart from the underlying lawsuit which the creditor has brought to collect its debt.  An application for issuance of writ of garnishment is filed and supported by affidavit.  A bond is only required for garnishments sought prior to the rendering of a final judgment.  Like the attachment, the defendant in a garnishment action has the right to replevy the property garnished at any time prior to final judgment. 

To speak to a knowledgeable, dedicated and aggressive Dallas-Fort Worth Texas collection attorney at Bristol & Dubiel LLP please call our office at (214) 880-9988, or if you prefer, contact us through this Web site and a lawyer from our office will contact you promptly.

At the Law Office of Bristol & Dubiel LLP, our Texas debt collection lawyers provide effective representation for businesses seeking the collection of debts in Texas and Oklahoma.  In addition to serving our home area of Dallas-Fort Worth office, we also serve the surrounding communities including Irving, Garland, Arlington, Mesquite, Richardson, Rockwall, Greenville, Plano, Denton, Carrollton, Addison, Grand Prairie, Lewisville, McKinney, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Richland Hills, North Richland Hills, Highland Park, University Park, Allen, Southlake, Carroll, Coppell, Flower Mound, Grapevine, The Colony, Frisco, Colleyville, Rowlett, Trophy Club, Rowlett, Parker, Murphy and Highland Village.  We serve Dallas County, Tarrant County, Denton County, Collin County, Hunt County, Rockwall County, and Ellis County.