Title 43 — Civil Remedies and Procedure

(a) The plaintiff in any permitted action upon a contract, express or implied, may, at the commencement of the action, or at any time afterward, and before judgment, have such property of the defendant or of any one or more of several defendants as is not exempt from execution, a…

Before any writ of attachment shall issue, the plaintiff, or someone in his behalf, shall make and file with the clerk an affidavit showing that the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff, specifying the amount of such indebtedness over and above all just due credits and offsets,…

(a) Before a writ of attachment shall issue, the plaintiff shall execute and file with the clerk a bond or undertaking with a surety company or 2 or more sureties, to be approved by such clerk, in a sum at least double the amount for which the plaintiff demands judgment, and in n…

The defendant may at any time before judgment move the court or judge for additional security on the part of the plaintiff, and if the court or judge is satisfied that the surety on the plaintiff’s bond is insufficient or has been removed from American Samoa, the attachment may b…

(a) In an action on an attachment bond, the plaintiff therein may recover, if he shows that the attachment was wrongfully sued out, the actual damages sustained and reasonable attorney’s fees, of not more than $25 in any case, to be fixed by the court; and if it is shown that suc…

The marshal shall attach property of the defendant in an amount sufficient to satisfy the demand of the plaintiff, with costs and expenses, if sufficient property not exempt from execution can be found, giving that to which the defendant has an unquestionable title a preference o…

The marshal to whom the writ is directed and delivered must execute the same without delay as follows: (a) Real property or an interest therein shall be attached by filing in the office in which conveyances of the real property attached should be recorded, a copy of the writ of a…

If the marshal has any reasonable doubt as to the ownership of the property or its liability to be taken on the writ, he may require sufficient security to indemnify him for attaching it. History: 1962, PL 7-36.

Whenever it appears by the affidavit of the plaintiff or by the return of the attachment that no property is known to the plaintiff or officer on which the attachment can be executed, or not enough to satisfy the plaintiffs claim, the defendant may be required by the court or jud…

If any attached property is perishable or in danger of serious and immediate waste or decay, the marshal shall sell the same in the manner in which property is sold on execution. Whenever it is made to appear satisfactorily to the court or judge that the interest of the parties t…

The marshal shall make out a full inventory of the property attached and return the same with the writ of attachment. He shall return the writ with the summons if issued at the same time; otherwise, within such time after receipt as is allowed for a return of summons, with a cert…

If the defendant recovers judgment or the plaintiff is nonsuited or the action is discontinued or dismissed, all the proceeds of the sale and money collected by the marshal, and all the property attached remaining in the marshal’s hands, shall be delivered to the defendant or his…

If the defendant, at any time before judgment, causes a bond to be executed to the plaintiff with sufficient sureties and approved by the officer having the attachment, or, after the return thereof, by the clerk, to the effect that he will perform the judgment of the court, the a…

The defendant may at any time after he has appeared in the action, either before or after the release of the attached property, or before any attachment has actually been levied, apply by motion and upon reasonable notice to the plaintiff, to the court in which the action is brou…

Whenever an order has been made discharging or releasing an attachment upon real property, a certified copy of the order may be filed in the office in which a copy of the writ has been filed and indexed in like manner. History: 1962, PL 7-36.

All expenses relating to an attachment shall be paid by the plaintiff when a writ is discharged. History: 1962, PL 7-36.

If judgment is recovered by the plaintiff, the marshal shall satisfy the same out of the property attached by him which has not been delivered to the defendant or claimant or subjected to execution on another judgment recovered before the issuing of the attachment, by applying on…

When there are several attachments against the same defendant, they shall be executed in the order in which they are received by the marshal. History: 1962, PL 7-36.

(a) If, after selling all the property attached by him remaining in his hands and applying all the proceeds, after deduction of his fees, to the payment of the judgment, any balance remains due, the marshal shall proceed to collect such balance as upon an execution in other cases…

The court before which the action is pending, or the judge thereof, may at any time appoint a receiver, whose pay shall be fixed by the court and assessed as part of the costs, to take possession of property attached under the provisions of this chapter, collect the revenues ther…