Also known as: levies · levied · levying
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
2 senses
A court-authorized seizure of a debtor's property by a sheriff or other officer to satisfy a judgment. The process requires a writ of execution and typically precedes a public sale of the seized assets.
The imposition of an assessment or tax by legal authority against property or persons within a defined group. The resulting obligation is secured by a lien and may be collected through further enforcement measures.
A court-authorized seizure of a debtor's property by a sheriff or other officer to satisfy a judgment. The process requires a writ of execution and typically precedes a public sale of the seized assets.
The imposition of an assessment or tax by legal authority against property or persons within a defined group. The resulting obligation is secured by a lien and may be collected through further enforcement measures.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Liam Larson obtained a judgment against a limited partnership for unpaid services. After the writ of execution against partnership assets was returned unsatisfied, he sought to levy on the personal assets of general partner Lucas Lee. Because no judgment had been entered against Lee personally and none of the statutory conditions for direct execution were met, the court denied the levy request.
Luke Latham held a judgment against a general partnership for breach of contract. He attempted to levy directly on partner Levi Lowe's personal bank accounts. The court refused the levy because no separate judgment against Lowe existed and partnership assets had not been shown insufficient under the statutory test.
Lola Langley held an unsatisfied judgment against a limited partnership whose assets consisted only of outdated equipment worth far less than the debt. She petitioned the court for permission to levy on general partner Latoya Lane's personal residence. The court granted permission after finding that partnership assets were clearly insufficient and exhaustion would be excessively burdensome.
Liberty Trust obtained a judgment against a general partnership whose only assets were a small office lease and modest receivables. After showing that further collection efforts against the partnership would be excessively burdensome, the creditor received court permission to levy on partner Landmark Realty's equipment. The order rested on the equitable powers provision of the statute.
3 common questions
A judgment creditor may levy on a general partner's personal assets only after obtaining a separate judgment against the partner and satisfying one of the statutory conditions, such as an unsatisfied writ against the partnership, partnership bankruptcy, partner agreement, court permission based on insufficient assets, or independent liability.
Supporting sources
The creditor must demonstrate that partnership assets are clearly insufficient to satisfy the judgment, that exhaustion would be excessively burdensome, or that permission is an appropriate exercise of equitable powers.
Supporting sources
No. A judgment against the partnership alone creates no lien on a partner's separate property and cannot be satisfied from those assets without a separate judgment against the partner or satisfaction of an additional statutory condition.
Supporting sources
Lotus Pharmaceuticals owned a unit in a lakeside subdivision governed by a recorded declaration. The newly formed association levied annual assessments to maintain shared docks and obtain insurance. When Lotus refused payment, the association recorded a lien against the unit and prepared to enforce collection through foreclosure proceedings.
State A imposed surcharges on out-of-state waste under a federal statute that authorized collection into an escrow account. The Secretary of Energy collected a portion of each surcharge as a federal levy on interstate commerce. The arrangement was upheld as a valid exercise of federal taxing and commerce powers.
Low-level radioactive waste is generated by many sources and must be isolated from humans for long periods. Historically the Nation relied on a small number of disposal sites. Concern about declining disposal capacity prompted Congress initially to adopt the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980. That statute declared a federal policy that each State is responsible for providing for disposal of waste generated within its borders. It authorized States to enter into regional compacts. That Act contained no penalties for nonparticipation. By 1985, with few operational sites and a looming crisis, Congress enacted the 1985 Amendments. The amendments were based largely on proposals of the National Governors' Association. They embodied a compromise among sited and unsited States. The 1985 Act directs each State to be responsible for disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated within the State. It authorizes States to enter into interstate compacts. For an additional seven years the three existing disposal sites were required to make capacity available for waste from any source. Sited States were permitted to exact graduated surcharges on out-of-region waste. After the transition period approved compacts could exclude out-of-region waste. The Act provides three types of incentives to encourage States to comply with its requirements. The monetary incentives authorize sited States to impose surcharges on out-of-state waste. They require the Secretary of Energy to collect a portion of the surcharge into an escrow account. They permit distribution of that fund to States that achieve the statutory milestones. The access incentives authorize sited States and regional compacts to increase and ultimately deny access to their sites to waste from States that do not meet federal deadlines. The take title provision requires a State that fails to provide for disposal by January 1, 1996. Upon request of the generator or owner of waste, the State must take title to and possession of the waste and be liable for damages suffered by the generator or owner as a result of the State's failure to take possession. The petitioners, New York and two of its counties, sought a declaratory judgment that the three incentives are inconsistent with the Tenth Amendment and with the Guarantee Clause of Article IV, § 4. The District Court dismissed the complaint. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
View case1 common questions
The association may record a lien against individually owned property and enforce the lien through foreclosure or other collection remedies authorized by the declaration or statute.
Supporting sources
…Government and the States. The power of creating a corporation is not a great substantive independent power like making war or levying taxes; it is generally a means by which other objects are accomplished. Therefore it may be implied as incidental to other powers if it is a direct mode of executing them. The Constitution…