Writs of Attachment are a pre-judgment remedy. They are a big deal for doing creditor/plaintiff work because it means the creditor has the right to attach to the debtor’s assets (ie, get the money) before a judgment has issued. That’s right, it’s the speediest remedy around.
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A common example is when a creditor/plaintiff will seek a Writ of Attachment is against a Guarantor. Quite often in the private money lending arena, when an LLC or other corporate entity takes out a loan, the loan must be also guaranteed by an individual with assets. Accordingly, when the borrower defaults on the loan, then the lender can go after the guarantor.
In the case of United Central Bank v. Superior Court (Chang), Louisa Chang gave personal guaranties to the bank on three construction loans. These guaranties had the standard waivers (see my earlier article on Guarantees and here for info on Gradsky waivers, etc.) and the Bank was allowed to go after Ms. Chang first. The Bank sought a Writ of Attachment and the trial court denied the application based on the defense that the underlying loans were adequately secured by the real property. The Bank appealed and won on appeal. Chang’s guaranty was a contract with the Bank independent of the loan, and the Section 483.101(b) did not apply. [
Moral of the story? Guarantors are at risk of having their assets attached very soon after a default on the guaranteed obligation.
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