Also known as: levy of execution · execution and levy · writ of execution · levy
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A judicial process by which a creditor enforces a money judgment by seizing and selling the debtor's property under a writ of execution. The process requires a judgment against the specific party whose assets are targeted and satisfaction of statutory conditions before reaching assets held by others such as partners.
Layla Lane obtained a judgment against Lunar Dynamics LP on a contract claim but never sued or obtained judgment against Dana, the general partner. Layla asked the court to freeze Dana's personal brokerage accounts to satisfy the partnership judgment. The court denied the request because no separate judgment existed against Dana and no statutory conditions for execution against her assets had been met.
Lucia Lopez won a tort judgment against Linden Logistics Partnership but sued only the entity. She recorded the judgment as a lien on Leo Lynch's personal rental house without first obtaining a judgment against him individually. The court refused to recognize the lien because the partnership judgment alone created no execution rights against a partner's separate property.
Latoya Lane secured a judgment against Lakewood Manufacturing LP and obtained a writ of execution that was returned unsatisfied. She then sought to levy on the personal assets of general partner Lila Lin. The court permitted the levy only after confirming both the unsatisfied writ and that Lin was personally liable under the applicable statute.
Lucy Liu obtained a judgment against Liberty Trust Partnership and a writ that came back unsatisfied in part. She then pursued execution against partner Leo Lynch's brokerage account. The court allowed the levy because the unsatisfied writ condition had been satisfied and Lynch bore personal liability for the underlying claim.
Lunar Dynamics LP's assets proved clearly insufficient to satisfy a judgment held by Layla Lane. The court found exhaustion excessively burdensome and granted permission for levy against general partner Dana's personal assets. The order rested on the equitable finding that partnership property could not adequately satisfy the claim.
Linden Logistics Partnership's remaining assets were plainly inadequate to meet a judgment obtained by Lucia Lopez. The court determined that further exhaustion efforts would be excessively burdensome and authorized execution against partner Leo Lynch's individual property. The ruling invoked the court's equitable authority under the statute.
No. A judgment against the partnership binds only the entity and its assets. Creditors must obtain a separate judgment against the partner or satisfy additional statutory conditions before levying on the partner's personal property.
Supporting sources
The creditor must show either an unsatisfied writ of execution against the partnership, partnership bankruptcy, partner agreement to forgo exhaustion, court permission based on insufficient assets, or independent liability of the partner.
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A court may authorize levy when partnership assets are clearly insufficient, exhaustion would be excessively burdensome, or equitable considerations support the order, provided the partner is personally liable.
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No. Partnership property belongs to the entity. A partner's personal creditor may reach only the partner's transferable interest through a charging order and cannot execute directly on specific partnership assets.
Supporting sources
…law but fell far short of the present act. Block v. Hirsh , 256 U.S. 135. Marcus Brown Holding Co. v. Feldman , 256 U.S. 170. Levy Leasing Co. v. Siegel , 258 U.S. 242. We assume, of course, that the statute was passed upon the conviction that an exigency existed that would warrant it, and we assume that an exigency…