TITLE EIGHT — PROVISIONAL AND FINAL REMEDIES AND SPECIAL PROCEDURES
Rule 46. Seizing a Person or Property; Attachment
Remedies Available. At the commencement of and throughout an action, every remedy is available that provides for seizing a person or property to secure satisfaction of the potential judgment, but only to the extent that the remedy is expressly conferred by the Constitution, by statute, or by these rules. No court shall seize, or direct the seizure of, a person or property upon the general equity powers of the court alone. The remedies available in a civil action are:
custody of the person of a judgment debtor under a writ of execution, as provided by Rule 50 and 7 R. Stat. § 132.119;
custody of the person of a contemnor to coerce compliance with an order of the court, as provided by Rule 53;
sequestration of the property that is the subject of the action into the custody of the court, a receiver, or a person the court appoints, as provided by Rule 48; and
seizure of the specific chattel that is the subject of a claim under 7 R. Stat. § 121.102 or § 121.103, in the manner provided by subdivision (3) of this rule.
Custody of the Person. No person shall be taken into custody in a civil action except under a writ of execution issued under Rule 50 or an order of civil commitment entered under Rule 53. An order taking a person into custody shall be directed to the Sheriff, who shall execute it as process directed to the Sheriff under 9 R. Stat. § 331.202(e). No bond, bail, security, citation, or collection of any kind shall be levied or accepted as a condition of release from custody in a civil action, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.205. Security given under Rule 47(5) is security for damages occasioned by a wrongful restraint and is not a condition of any person’s release from custody.
Seizure of a Specific Chattel.
When Ordered. On motion of a party claiming the right to immediate possession of a specific chattel, the court may order the Sheriff to take that chattel into the custody of the court pending judgment. The court shall not enter the order unless the movant establishes, by affidavit or verified pleading stating specific facts, that:
the movant has a right to immediate possession of the chattel and the chattel is described with particularity sufficient for the Sheriff to identify it;
the chattel is wrongfully detained by the adverse party, and the manner of the wrongful detention;
the chattel is in imminent danger of being consumed, concealed, transferred, destroyed, or removed beyond the reach of the court’s process; and
no other remedy available under these rules will preserve the chattel.
Notice. The order shall not issue without notice to the adverse party and an opportunity to be heard, except upon the findings required by Rule 47(1)(a) for a temporary restraining order without notice. Where the order issues without notice, the court shall set a hearing at the earliest possible time and in no event more than seventy-two (72) hours after the order issues.
Security. The court shall require the movant to give security under Rule 47(5) before the order takes effect, unless the court for good cause otherwise orders.
Custody and Return. A chattel taken under this rule shall be held by the Sheriff, or deposited under Rule 48(4), and shall not be sold, used, or disposed of. Within twenty-four (24) hours of the seizure the Sheriff shall deliver to the Clerk a written inventory of what was taken, which the Clerk shall enter upon the docket. The court shall dissolve the order and direct the chattel returned on motion of the adverse party where the movant fails to establish the grounds in subdivision (3)(a), or where the security is insufficient.
Damages for Wrongful Seizure. A party who obtains a seizure under this rule and does not prevail on the claim to which the chattel relates is liable for the loss occasioned by the seizure, which the court shall assess on motion in the same action, and which shall be satisfied first from the security given.
Illegal Property. Nothing in this rule authorizes a civil court to order the seizure of property whose possession is unlawful. Where it appears that property in the possession of a party is unlawfully held, the court shall direct the Clerk to transmit notice of that fact to the Attorney General, and the property shall be dealt with under the criminal law and Rid. R. Crim. P. 44.
Government Property. No order under this rule shall issue against the State, a county, a municipality, or an agency or department thereof except as expressly permitted by statute, and subject to 7 R. Stat. § 122.002.