Ark. Code Ann. § 16-110-111 (2020)
Execution of order of attachment generally
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The order of attachment shall be executed by the county sheriff or other officer without delay, in the following manner:
- Upon real property by leaving a copy of the order with the occupant thereof or, if there is no occupant, in a conspicuous place thereon;
- Upon personal property, capable of manual delivery, by taking it into his or her custody and holding it subject to the order of the court; or
- Upon other personal property by delivering a copy of the order, with a notice specifying the property attached, to the person holding the property; or as to a debt or demand, to the person owing it; or as to stock in a corporation, or property held, or a debt or demand owing by it, to the chief officer, or to the secretary, cashier, treasurer, or managing agent thereof, and by summoning the person or corporation to answer as a garnishee in the action. The county sheriff shall deliver copies to and summon such persons as garnishees as the plaintiff may direct.
- It shall be the duty of every person mentioned in subdivision (a)(3) of this section, to whom the county sheriff shall apply therefor, to furnish him or her with a certificate of the number of shares of the defendant in the stock of the corporation, a description of the property held by the corporation or person belonging to, or for the benefit of, the defendant, or the amount of the debt owing to the defendant by the corporation or person, whether due or not. A failure to perform this duty may be punished by the court as a contempt.
- A county sheriff having an order of attachment, or for the delivery of property, may enter any building or enclosure containing the property, to take it; and, if necessary for this purpose, he or she may break the building or enclosure, having first publicly demanded the property.
- The defendant's personal property shall be first taken under an attachment. If enough thereof is not found, then his or her real property shall be taken.
History. Civil Code, §§ 227-229, 777; C. & M. Dig., §§ 507-509, 9166; Pope's Dig., §§ 544-546, 11828; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 31-114 — 31-117.
Publisher's Notes. As to the constitutionality of this section, see case notes for McCrory v. Johnson, 296 Ark. 231, 755 S.W.2d 566 (1988).
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
The lack of prompt notice to the debtor of a prejudgment attachment and of possible state or federal exemptions, and the lack of a prompt hearing at which the debtor can claim exemptions, leaves the prejudgment attachment provisions inadequate to prevent an erroneous deprivation of property in violation of due process. McCrory v. Johnson, 296 Ark. 231, 755 S.W.2d 566 (1988).
Corporate Stock.
A delivery by a sheriff of a notice to the proper officer of a corporation after the order of attachment had been filed in the clerk's office was a delivery after the sheriff's power to act had ceased to exist and, consequently, there was no attachment of the shares. Deutschman v. Byrne, 64 Ark. 111, 40 S.W. 780 (1897).
Delivery of a writ of attachment containing a garnishment clause to the president of a corporation is not sufficient to fix a lien on any stock in such corporation held by the debtor. H.B. Claflin Co. v. Bretzfelder, 69 Ark. 271, 62 S.W. 905 (1901).
Debts or Demands.
The jurisdiction of the circuit court over the funds in the hands of a garnishee is not dependent upon the amount of his indebtedness to the defendant. Moore v. Kelley, 47 Ark. 219, 1 S.W. 97 (1886).
A debtor's credits can only be levied upon by garnishment or judicial proceedings; a levy upon his books or accounts is a levy only upon the materials which compose them, i.e., the books themselves, and not the evidence of debts therein. Goodbar v. Lindsley, 51 Ark. 380, 11 S.W. 577 (1888).
Personal Property Capable of Manual Delivery.
To constitute an attachment of personal property capable of manual delivery, the sheriff must take the property into his custody and actual possession. Adler, Goldman & Co. v. Roth, 5 F. 895 (C.C.E.D. Ark. 1881).
A declaration by constable that he levied upon goods inside a building was not a valid levy as against a sheriff who subsequently took the goods into his custody. Meyer v. Missouri Glass Co., 65 Ark. 286, 45 S.W. 1062 (1898).
Where deputy sheriff under writ of attachment took the truck and drove it away without having the writ in his possession and without serving a copy on any person, there was no lack of service as an order of attachment may be executed upon personal property capable of manual delivery by the officer taking it into custody. Smith v. Moschetti, 213 Ark. 968, 214 S.W.2d 73 (1948).
Cited: Hackworth v. First Nat'l Bank, 265 Ark. 668, 580 S.W.2d 465 (1979); Ward v. Dapper Dan Cleaners & Laundry, Inc., 309 Ark. 192, 828 S.W.2d 833 (1992).