What is 'Receivership'

Receivership is a type of corporate bankruptcy in which a receiver is

appointed by bankruptcy courts or creditors to run the company. The
receiver may be appointed by a bankruptcy court as a matter of
private proceedings, or by a governing body. In most cases, the
receiver is given ultimate decision-making powers and has full
discretion in deciding how the received assets will be managed.

BREAKING DOWN 'Receivership'

A receivership provides a business with an opportunity to restructure to avoid
liquidation by using a court-appointed trustee, referred to as a receiver, to
oversee business operations. As part of operating the receivership, the
receiver assumes rights over the associated business assets and properties
and holds the ability to cease all dividend or applicable interest payments.
Members of the executive leadership or board of directors lose all decision-
making authority.
What is 'Receivership'
Receivership is a type of corporate bankruptcy in which a receiver is
appointed by bankruptcy courts or creditors to run the company. The
receiver may be appointed by a bankruptcy court as a matter of private
proceedings, or by a governing body. In most cases, the receiver is
given ultimate decision-making powers and has full discretion in deciding
how the received assets will be managed.

BREAKING DOWN 'Receivership'

A receivership provides a business with an opportunity to restructure to
avoid liquidation by using a court-appointed trustee, referred to as a
receiver, to oversee business operations. As part of operating the
receivership, the receiver assumes rights over the associated business
assets and properties and holds the ability to cease all dividend or
applicable interest payments. Members of the executive leadership or
board of directors lose all decision-making authority.
Receivership as Rehabilitation
A receivership may be enacted in an attempt to review a failing
company. The receiver works to restructure the company, managing
assets and obligations as necessary, to bring the company into a period
of recovery. Certain assets may be liquidated, under the authority of the
receiver, but the true purpose is to work to bring the company back to a
profitable state.

A company looking towards bankruptcy is not required to consider a

restructuring. Instead, it can choose to move straight to liquidation, as
was the case with the Sports Authority, a sporting and outdoor retail
chain, in 2016. Bypassing the option to reorganize, Sports Authority
chose to begin organizing the liquidation of assets after filing for
bankruptcy protection in March 2016.

Receivership and Liquidation

If it is determined that a company's operations cannot be salvaged through a
corporate restructuring, the decision to liquidate may be in order. This process
involves selling the company's assets with oversight from the receiver to
acquire the funds needed to repay certain debts or other obligations. At times,
the assets are sold at deep discounts as the goal is to recoup monies owed.

Definition of Replevin

The legal definition of 'replevin' is 'an action originating in common law...by which a
plaintiff, having a right in personal property claimed to be wrongfully taken or
detained by the defendant, seeks to recover possession of the property and
sometimes to obtain damages for the wrongful detention.' Let's look at an example.

Chase Bank loans a man several thousand dollars with the man's vehicle as
collateral. The man never pays back the loan, and eventually Chase goes to court in
order to legally force the man to pay back his loan. As part of the opening of their
case, Chase has their lawyers file a writ of replevin on the vehicle. The judge, seeing
Chase's fear that the man may damage the car out of spite and thus ruin the
collateral, approves the writ and the ownership of the car is transferred to Chase
Bank. A sheriff's deputy goes with representatives of Chase Bank to the man's home
and insists that the man turn over the keys, registration, and other relevant items.
Chase representatives leave with the vehicle.

Replevin vs. Repossession

This legal tool is distinct from repossession in that repossession is legally

considered 'self-help', and needs no legal action. If you have the legal right to an
object and you simply go and take it, that's repossession. If you cannot simply go
and take it for whatever reason, you would obtain a court order commanding the
holder to give you the item(s) you have a legal right to.

When Is Replevin Applicable?

A wide variety of situations:

To return stolen goods to the business or individual they were stolen from.
To transfer ownership of collateral for a loan that wasn't paid back.
To obtain an electricity meter from the property of someone whose electricity has
been cut off and who shows no intention of paying their electric bill.
To get personal items back from the police after their evidentiary value has been
exhausted.
To get items lent to another person back (generally after some sort of schism that
has made you no longer welcome on their property.)
To get items rented out to a customer back after the rental terms are complete.

This is hardly an exhaustive list: the conditions in which this law applies are quite
diverse.

What To Expect When You File

When you come to Schmidt Law Firm and tell us that someone else is illegally
holding something that belongs to you, we will ask you a few questions. One of them
will be to learn whether or not you have attempted a simple repossession and why
not. Another will be whether you have any other outstanding cases pending against
the person holding your belongings. We may also ask you to provide proof that you
are the legal owner of the items in question.

Once we have all of the relevant information, our replevin specialist will write up the
writ and file it with the court. If the writ is denied, you will have to go through a longer
and more complex legal process to establish that you are in fact the proper owner of
the goods in question. If the writ is affirmed, you will be put in contact with the
sheriff's office, and you (or your representatives) will go with a deputy to collect the
goods in question.
Replevin: it's our tool for making sure that they give you back your stuff -- right now.
If someone is illegally holding your property, call for a free consultation Schmidt Law
Firm at 888-459-3077.

Attachment
The legal process of seizing property to ensure satisfaction of a judgment.
The document by which a court orders such a seizure may be called a writ of attachment or an
orderof attachment.
Originally, the main purpose of attachment was to coerce a defendant into appearing in court an
danswering the plaintiff's claim. The court's order pressured the sheriff to take the defendant'spr
operty into custody, depriving the individual of the right to use or sell it. If the defendant obstinat
elyrefused to appear, the property could be sold by the court to pay off any monetary judgment
enteredagainst him or her. Today, the process of attachment has two functions, as a jurisdiction
al predicateand as a provisional remedy.
Attachment of property within reach of the court's jurisdiction gives the court authority over thed
efendant to the extent of that property's value even if the court cannot reach the defendantperso
nally. For example, a court must have some connection with the defendant in order to requiretha
t person to appear and defend himself or herself in an action before that court.
A variety of different facts are sufficient to give the court jurisdiction over the defendant's person
; forexample, the defendant's residence within the state, the defendant's commission of a wrong
ful actwithin the state, or the defendant's doing business within the state.
If none of these kinds of facts exist to give the court jurisdiction over the defendant's person, the
court may nevertheless assert its authority over property that the defendant owns within the stat
e. Insuch a case, the plaintiff cannot recover a monetary judgment for an amount larger than the
value ofthe property nor can the individual reach the defendant's property outside the state, but
this sort ofjurisdiction, called jurisdiction in rem or quasi in rem, may be the best the plaintiff can
get. Before thecourt can exercise jurisdiction over the property, the plaintiff must obtain a writ of
attachment to bringit into custody of the court.
Attachment may also be a provisional remedy, that is, relief that temporarily offers the plaintiff s
omesecurity while pursuing a final judgment in the lawsuit. For example, a plaintiff who has goo
d reasonto believe that the person he or she is suing is about to pack up and leave the state will
want thecourt to prevent this until the plaintiff has a chance to win the action and collect on the j
udgment.The plaintiff can apply for an order of attachment that brings the property into the custo
dy of thecourt and takes away the defendant's right to remove it or dispose of it.
Attachment is considered a very harsh remedy because it substantially interferes with thedefend
ant's property rights before final resolution of the overall dispute. For this reason, there havebee
n a number of challenges to the attachment procedures in different states, and the SupremeCou
rt has established standards that are the least that DUE PROCESS requires. For example, forcent
uries attachment of a defendant's property was granted ex parte, that is, without first allowingthe
defendant to argue against it. The theory was that any defendant was likely to leave the state if
he or she knew beforehand that his or her property was about to be attached. This collides with
theindividual's right to be free of interference with his or her rights unless the individual is given
noticeand an opportunity to be heard in the matter. States, therefore, now generally provide that
noticemust be given to the defendant before the seizure of property whenever practical, and the
 defendantmust be given a hearing promptly after the seizure. Furthermore, a court cannot sanc
tion a seizurethat is made without a court order of attachment. To obtain the order, the plaintiff
must swear to a setof facts that justify such a drastic interference with the defendant's property.
The process of attachment varies in detail from state to state, but it is not overly complicated. Th
eplaintiff submits an application to the court describing the Cause of
Action against the defendantand the grounds for seeking an attachment. The plaintiff may have
to include documents or otherevidence to support the claim that he or she will probably win the
lawsuit, and the individual usuallyis required to make the application under oath. States generall
y require that the plaintiff post a bondor undertaking in an amount sufficient to secure payment o
f damages to the defendant if it turns outthat the plaintiff was not in fact entitled to the attachme
nt.
The court issues a writ of attachment directing the sheriff or other law enforcement officer to ser
ve acopy of the order on the defendant and to seize property equal in value to the sum specified
in thewrit. This is called a levy of attachment. The defendant then has a right to challenge the s
eizure orto post bond for the release of the property, in effect substituting the bond for the prope
rty in thecourt's custody. The order of attachment is effective only for a limited period, the time n
ecessary towind up the lawsuit between plaintiff and defendant or a specified period intended to
permitresolution of the controversy. Provisions are usually made for special circumstances or ex
tremehardship.
Not every kind of property owned by the defendant is subject to attachment. The laws of a state
mayprovide exemptions for certain household items, clothing, tools, and other essentials. Thede
fendant's salary may be subject to attachment, but a certain amount is exempt in order to allowf
or personal support or for family support. Property belonging to the defendant but in the hands o
fsomeone else, such as salary owed or a debt not yet paid, may also be seized, but this proced
ure isusually called Garnishment rather than attachment.
Courts always have the discretion to exempt more property than that specified in a statute or tod
eny the attachment altogether under the proper circumstances. This may be done, for example,
when the court believes that the property sought to be attached is worth much more than anyjud
gment the plaintiff could hope to win, or where the property is an ongoing business that would b
edestroyed by attachment.