arrestment

in the Scots law of diligence or legal enforcement, the attachment of a debtor's moveable property- like goods - that is in the hands of a third party. The situation is thus: A sues B; C owes money to B; A can arrest the debt owed by C to B until his own action against B is concluded (called arrestment on the dependence) or, if the arrestment is after the action between A and B, until A actually gets an order to have C make the money over, which is done by FURTHCOMING. Arrestment prohibits the party in whose hands it is laid from parting with the property but does not affect the property. It does not operate IN REM. It can be used to keep the property available in case the debtor does not pay. There is a special diligence for attaching ships, called arrestment of a ship, that generally can only be done if the claim is a maritime claim. If it is feared the ship will leave, a warrant can be granted to dismantle the ship. Arrestment can be extinguished by the court by recall. Loosing of arrestment frees the subject of arrestment but preserves another security for the creditor. Arrestment can take place before an action is served on the defender (called arrestment on the dependence ).

Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006

ARRESTMENT, Scotch law. By this term is sometimes meant the securing of a criminal's person till trial, or that of a debtor till he give security judicio sisti. Ersk. Pr. L. Scot. 1, 2, 12. It is also the order of a judge, by which he who is debtor in a movable obligation to the arrester's debtor, is prohibited to make payment or delivery till the debt due to the arrester be paid or secured. Ersk. Pr. L. Scot. 3, 6, 1. See Attachment, foreign. where arrestment proceeds on a depending action, it may be loosed by the common debtor's giving security to the arrester for his debt, in the event it shall be found due. Id. 3, 6, 7.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.