Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts

Attachments

I want to sue a contractor who has no assets but is about to receive an insurance settlement, can I get an attachment of insurance proceeds before contractor receives them?


Asked on 4/03/08, 8:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Craig J. Tiedemann Kajko, Weisman & Colasanti, LLP

Re: Attachments

It depends on the surrounding facts and circumstances. If you are able to meet the required legal standard, then, in theory, insurance proceeds may be available for attachment (although it depends on what kind of loss the insurance money is compensating). Also available for attachment might be funds due to the contractor from others on current or future projects. It is possible to attach streams of present/future proceeds due to the debotr by others. There are a few other sources of possible attachment to secure payment of amounts due to you.

Having said that, obtaining an attachment is a high legal hurdle, but the bar can be (and usually is) cleared where warranted by the circumstances. The legal work necessary to obtain an attachment is labor intensive, however. But the leverage creted by receiving an attachment can be, and usually is, overwhelming, and often results in an immediate resolution of the entire dispute. Often times the party suffering from the attachment has no choice but to buckle under to the party holding the attachment simply to obtain relief from the confnes of the attachment.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your options for moving forward.

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Answered on 4/03/08, 2:30 pm


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