Opinion ID: 2363417
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Time for Issuing Each Writ

Text: A writ of attachment may be issued before judgment or at any time while the judgment is in force. [17] Thus, a person having a claim, whether or not reduced to a judgment, may reasonably assure himself of satisfaction by freezing property. For example, a writ of attachment may be obtained under D.C.Code 1973, § 16-501(d)(3), where a defendant is about to remove . . . his property from the District. The same principle holds true following a judgment: so long as the judgment is in force, a writ of attachment may issue on it. The delay required to revive a judgment so that a writ of execution may issue, [18] may be of sufficient length to allow the defendant ample opportunity to secrete or dispose of his assets. See, e. g., Harper v. Cunningham, 8 App.D.C. 430 (1896) (second reported appeal in proceeding begun in 1890 to revive a judgment). Therefore, essentially no limit is fixed on the time for attachment in anticipation of satisfying a viable claim. The time period following a judgment during which a writ of execution may issue is shorter than that during which a writ of attachment may issue. The basis for the restriction is the presumption that following a certain amount of time after judgment, the judgment has been satisfied. [19] At common law, the period of time was a year and a day. The period was codified and in force from the formation of the District in 1801 until the adoption of the 1901 code. [20] With the adoption of the 1901 code, the period became: within three years from the judgment or, if the right to execute is suspended, within three years after the removal of the suspension. [21] Thus, unless the presumption that the judgment has been satisfied has been rebutted by the revival of the judgment, a judgment creditor may have an enforceable judgment. [22] The prima facie conclusion is also rebutted by a writ of execution having been issued and returned unsatisfied within the three-year period. [23]