Writs Of Attachment

"New Jersey Superior Court may issue an attachment against the real or personal property of any debtor in any of the circumstances lised in N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-2.

The Attachment Act also provides that attachment may be issued against both the separate and joint property of joint debtors. N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-3.

Household goods and furniture having value of $1,000 or less are exempt from attachment. N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-4.

In addition, wages or other compensation for labor, or service due to a non-resident employee and their property in the state, are not subject to attachment by a non-resident. N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-5.

Plaintiffs seeking attachment, however, may be requested to post a bond in an amount fixed by the court. N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-7.

Attachment binds the attached goods, chattels, rights, credits, monies, and effects of the defendant from the time of its execution. N.J. STAT. ANN 2A:26-8.

When an attachment is issued, the attachment operates as a lien on any real estate the defendant possesses in the state. The lien also arises on real estate that the debtor acquires between the time the attachment is issued, and the entry of the judgment against the debtor. The lien continues to exist on the property until the plaintiff's claim is satisfied or discharged.N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-9.

Any conveyance of attached property made between the issuance of the attachment, and the entry of an judicial order in favor of plaintiff is void. See N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-10.

When a judgment is finally entered, then the judgment creates a lien on property acquired either before, or after, the judgment's entry. N.J. STAT. ANN. 2A:26-11. "

If the principal debtor does not have any property that may be attached, then the execution of a writ of attachment does not give rise to a lien on the property. See Russell v. Fred G. Pohl Co, 7 N.J. 32 (1951). As to priority, the first in time, first in right rule governs. See Altschuler v. Onen, 5 N.J. Misc. 45 (1926).

The Attachment Act provides the only attachment remedy. See Tanner Assocs., Inc. v. Ciraldo, 33 N.J. 51 (1960); Whiteman Food Prods. Co. v. G. Arrigoni & Co., 27 N.J. Super. 359 (1953). The writ of attachment is an extraordinary writ that should be used only when in personam jurisdiction is absent and not used when the debtor is within the reach of ordinary processes. See Augustus Co. v. Manzella, 19 N.J. Misc. 29 (1940); McQueeny v. J.W. Ferguson & Sons, Inc., 527 F. Supp. 729 (D. N.J. 1981).