Also known as: levari facias writ · lev. fa. · writ of execution · levy writ
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A writ of execution ordering a sheriff to seize a judgment debtor's goods and income from lands until the judgment debt is satisfied.
Lighthouse Shipping LP loses a contract suit and a money judgment is entered against it alone. The sheriff issues a levari facias writ and seizes partnership equipment, yet the proceeds fall short of the full amount. The writ returns unsatisfied in part, satisfying the statutory precondition for the judgment creditor to seek levy on the personal residence of general partner Landon Long.
Lexicon Media, a general partnership, suffers an adverse judgment on a supplier claim. The sheriff serves a levari facias writ on partnership bank accounts and inventory, but recovers only a fraction of the debt. With the writ returned unsatisfied in part, the creditor may now pursue execution against the personal bank accounts of partner Lucy Liu who is personally liable on the underlying obligation.
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The writ orders the sheriff to seize the judgment debtor's goods and the income from the debtor's lands until the judgment debt is paid in full.
The writ continues to be used chiefly in Delaware.
Under the uniform acts, return of the writ unsatisfied in whole or in part on a partnership judgment opens the door for a creditor to levy on a personally liable general partner's separate assets.
No. The uniform acts permit levy on the general partner's assets once the partnership judgment exists and the levari facias writ has been returned unsatisfied, provided the partner is personally liable on the claim.
A court may grant permission for direct levy on a general partner's assets upon a finding that partnership assets are clearly insufficient or that exhaustion would be excessively burdensome.