                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ISSUANCE OF ATTACHMENT; AGAINST WHAT ATTACHMENT TO ISSUE (§ 8.01-540)

A judge of, or a magistrate serving, the court in which a petition for
attachment is filed shall make an ex parte review of the petition. The judge or
magistrate shall issue an attachment in accordance with the prayer of the
petition only upon a determination that (i) there is reasonable cause to believe
that grounds for attachment may exist and (ii) the petition complies with §§
8.01-534, 8.01-537, and 8.01-538. The judge or magistrate may receive evidence
only in the form of a sworn petition which shall be filed in the office of the
clerk of the court. If the plaintiff seeks the recovery of specific personal
property, the attachment may be (i) against such property and against the
principal defendant&#8217;s estate for so much as is sufficient to satisfy the
probable damages for its detention or (ii) at the option of the plaintiff,
against the principal defendant&#8217;s estate for the value of the specific
property and the damages for its detention. If the plaintiff seeks to recover a
debt or damages for the breach of a contract, express or implied, or damages for
a wrong, the attachment shall be against the principal defendant&#8217;s estate
for the amount specified in the petition as that which the plaintiff at the
least is entitled to or ought to recover.
		If the attachment is issued by a magistrate, it shall be returnable as
prescribed by § 8.01-541. The magistrate shall promptly return to the
clerk&#8217;s office of the court to which the attachment is returnable the
petition and the bond, if any, filed before him. The proceedings thereafter
shall be the same as if the attachment had been issued by a judge.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 8.526; 1954, c. 254; 1977, c. 617; 1984, c. 646; 1993, c.
841; 2008, cc. 551, 691.