Attachments
Definition:
According to Barron’s Law Dictionary, an attachment is “a proceeding in law by which one’s property is seized: ‘a proceeding to take a defendant’s property into legal custody to satisfy plaintiff’s demand. The object of the proceeding is to hold property so taken for the payment of a judgment in the event plaintiff’s demand is established and judgment rendered therefore in his favor.’”
An attachment in a commercial transaction is a vehicle by which the owner of property voluntarily gives another entity (usually a bank or other lender of money) a security interest in real estate / property in exchange for a loan.
Effect of Attachment:
Once obtained or granted, an attachment is recorded with the Registry of Deeds, and create legal rights running to a third party that must be extinguished, or satisfied, before a property owner can convey clear title to a purchaser or give a valid first security interest to a new lender. The typical means of extinguishing the rights of a holder of an attachment are through release, or dissolution.
Certain methods of dissolution are:
A. Attachments can be dissolved by the plaintiff or by his executor, administrator or attorney of record. G.Lc. 223, §132. Other fiduciaries, such as guardians or conservators are not specifically empowered to discharge an attachment.
B. An attachment can be dissolved by bond. G.L.c. 223, §120 or by depositing the amount of the attachment with the deputy sheriff. G.L.c. 223, §128. T
C. They will lapse after six years. G.L.c. 223, §114A.
D. They will dissolve upon the death of the defendant in some cases. G.L.c. 223, §116.
E. An attachment will be “merged” into the judgment and will be dissolved thirty days (sixty days in the case of property in Nantucket[I]) after an execution has been issued. G.L.c. 223, §59.
F. A certificate from the court showing that the execution was so issued will effectively prove the matter and is the way that the title is cleared of record. See Massachusetts Conveyancers’ Association Title Standard No. 49. In most instances, even attachments that are created adversarial (as opposed to voluntarily by the owner) will be known to the owner prior to their being recorded at the Registry of Deeds.
In almost all instances, a court entertaining a request for attachment will require that the party seeking the attachment give notice and an opportunity for the real estate property owner to be heard.
* Authored in conjunction with Old Republic National Title Insurance Company.
Contact a Massachusetts Real Estate Attorney
For more information on attachments in Massachusetts, or if you are looking for a real estate attorney in Boston, please contact Rob D. Stewart. If you prefer, you can also telephone our offices in Boston seven days a week at toll free 866-414-0400.
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Ryan P.B. Kelly is an associate and a member of Parker Scheer's Corporate and Real Estate Practice Groups. Mr. Kelly's corporate practice involves the formation and organization process, governance, business finance, strategic planning, the structure, terms and negotiation of various contracts, management and ownership succession, and a wide variety of other legal issues that arise in the course of conducting a business and planning for its future.