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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>77594</law_id><section_number>8.01-537</section_number><catch_line>Petition for attachment; costs, fees and taxes</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>8.01-536</reference><reference>8.01-540</reference><reference>8.01-543</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="8.01">Civil Remedies and Procedure</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="20">Attachments and Bail in Civil Cases</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="1">Attachments Generally</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> Every <span class="dictionary">attachment</span> shall be commenced by a <span class="dictionary">petition</span> filed before a clerk of a <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> or general district <span class="dictionary">court</span> of, or <span class="dictionary">magistrate</span> serving, the county or city in which <span class="dictionary">venue</span> is given by subdivision 11 of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Category A or preferred venue" href="/8.01-261/">8.01-261</a>. If it is sought to recover specific personal property, the <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall state (i) the kind, quantity, and estimated fair market value thereof, (ii) the character of estate therein claimed by the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span>, (iii) the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span>&#x2019;s claim with such certainty as will give the adverse <span class="dictionary">party</span> reasonable notice of the true nature of the claim and the particulars thereof and (iv) what sum, if any, the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span> claims an entitlement to recover for its detention. If it is sought to recover a debt or <span class="dictionary">damages</span> for a breach of <span class="dictionary">contract</span>, express or implied, or <span class="dictionary">damages</span> for a wrong, the <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall set forth (i) the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span>&#x2019;s claim with such certainty as will give the adverse <span class="dictionary">party</span> reasonable notice of the true nature of the claim and the particulars thereof, (ii) a sum certain which, at the least, the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span> is entitled to, or ought to recover, and (iii) if based on a <span class="dictionary">contract</span> and if the claim is for a debt not then due and payable, at what time or times the same will become due and payable. The <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall also allege the existence of one or more of the grounds mentioned in &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Grounds of action for pretrial levy or seizure of attachment" href="/8.01-534/">8.01-534</a>, and shall set forth specific <span class="dictionary">facts</span> in support of the <span class="dictionary">allegation</span>. The <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall ask for an <span class="dictionary">attachment</span> against the specific personal property mentioned in the <span class="dictionary">petition</span>, or against the estate, real and personal, of one or more of the principal <span class="dictionary">defendants</span>, or against the estate, real and personal, of one or more of the principal <span class="dictionary">defendants</span>, or against both the specific personal property and the estate of such <span class="dictionary">defendants</span>, real or personal. The <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall state whether the officer is requested to take <span class="dictionary">possession</span> of the attached tangible personal property. The <span class="dictionary">petition</span> shall be sworn to by the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span> or the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span>&#x2019;s agent, or some other <span class="dictionary">person</span> cognizant of the <span class="dictionary">facts</span> therein stated. <a id="paragraph-278368" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.01-537/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> The <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span> praying for an <span class="dictionary">attachment</span> shall, at the time the <span class="dictionary">petition</span> is filed, pay to the <span class="dictionary">magistrate</span> or clerk of the <span class="dictionary">court</span> to which the return is made the proper costs, fees and taxes, and in the event the <span class="dictionary">plaintiff</span> fails to do so, the <span class="dictionary">attachment</span> shall not be issued. <a id="paragraph-278369" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/8.01-537/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7;&#xA7; 8-524, 8-528; 1954, cc. 333, 622; 1973, c. 545; 1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 418; 1984, c. 646; 1993, c. 841; 2008, cc. 551, 691; 2015, c. 639.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
