Syfert Injury Law Firm

Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation

Call Now: 904-383-7448

2018 Georgia Code 18-3-15 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 18 DEBTOR AND CREDITOR

Section 3. Attachment Proceedings, 18-3-1 through 18-3-75.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

18-3-15. Right of defendant to postseizure hearing.

When a writ of attachment is issued against the property of the defendant, the defendant may at any time traverse the plaintiff's affidavit upon which the attachment was obtained, stating that the affidavit is untrue or legally insufficient. Upon filing of the traverse, the court shall issue a show cause order to the plaintiff requiring him to appear at a specified time, which shall not be more than ten days from the filing of the traverse, to prove the grounds for the issuance of the attachment. If the plaintiff shall fail to carry the burden of proof, the order authorizing the attachment shall be revoked.

(Code 1933, § 8-114.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1065, § 5.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code 1868, § 3236, former Code 1873, § 3312, former Code 1882, § 3312, former Civil Code 1895, § 4560, and former Civil Code 1910, § 5107 are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Traverse need not be sworn to. Ouzts v. Seabrook, 47 Ga. 359 (1872) (decided under former Code 1868, § 3236).

Demurrer (now motion to dismiss) may be filed for lack of affidavit and attachment dismissed. DeLeon v. Heller, Hirsch & Co., 77 Ga. 740 (1886) (decided under former provisions).

Denial of truth of ground for attachment may be treated as traverse. Cooley v. Abbey, 111 Ga. 439, 36 S.E. 786 (1900) (decided under former Code 1893, § 4560).

Third-party claimant to property levied upon.

- Claimant of property levied on by execution issued on judgment founded on attachment cannot, on trial of claim, traverse grounds on which attachment issued. Foster v. Higginbotham, 49 Ga. 263 (1873) (decided under former Code 1882, § 3312).

Burden of proof.

- On trial of traverse, burden of proof is on plaintiff in attachment. Oliver v. Wilson, 29 Ga. 642 (1859) (decided prior to codification of this principle).

Admissibility of evidence to sustain traverse after replevy of attached property.

- When ground of attachment is duly traversed, defendant is entitled to introduce evidence to sustain the defendant's traverse, and presiding justice errs in holding that it is too late to do this after the defendant has replevied property attached. Brumby v. Rickoff, 94 Ga. 429, 21 S.E. 232 (1894) (decided under former Code 1873, § 3312).

Plaintiff is competent witness as to traverse by administrator regarding contract entered with intestate.

- When the plaintiff makes an affidavit for purpose of obtaining attachment against an administrator, and the administrator files traverse to affidavit, the plaintiff is a competent witness upon trial of issue formed, even though the contract, which is the foundation of the plaintiff's claim, was made with intestate. Effect of verdict for the defendant, upon such issue, is a dismissal of attachment. Ouzts v. Seabrook, 47 Ga. 359 (1872) (decided under former Code 1868, § 3236).

Waiver.

- Objections to form of affidavit are waived by appearance of the defendant, and pleading to the merits. Pool v. Perdue, 44 Ga. 454 (1871) (decided under former Code 1868, § 3236).

Defendant in attachment does not waive traverse to the plaintiff's affidavit by afterwards pleading to the merits of the action. The two defenses are perfectly consistent, the former going to the writ and the latter to the declaration. Parker v. Brady, 56 Ga. 372 (1876) (decided under former Code 1868, § 3236).

Effect of finding issue in defendant's favor.

- When issue on traverse is found in favor of the defendant, all defendant gains is that levy falls, and if judgment is obtained on merits the judgment does not date from time of levy, but the judgment would take lien on property attached as well as on other property from date of judgment only. Blakely Milling & Trading Co. v. Thompson, 34 Ga. App. 129, 128 S.E. 688 (1924) (decided under former Civil Code 1910, § 5107).

Intervenor's right to traverse affidavit of attachment.

- Construing O.C.G.A. §§ 18-3-15 and18-3-50 in pari materia, in light of the due process requirements, the intervenor has the same right to traverse the plaintiff's affidavit of attachment as the defendant, and once the affidavit of attachment is traversed, the procedure to follow is the same as that accorded the defendant. Trax, Inc. v. Pentagon Aero-Marine Corp., 162 Ga. App. 276, 290 S.E.2d 196 (1982).

Cited in Williams v. Williams, 170 Ga. App. 563, 317 S.E.2d 625 (1984).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Filing bond to secure release or return of seized property as appearance, 57 A.L.R.2d 1109.

API Error: Request was throttled. Expected available in 2 seconds.

No results found for Georgia Code 18-3-15.