Transcription of © MA Cooper Attorneys - cooper3e.co.za
1 MA Cooper Attorneys Michael A Cooper Sole Proprietor Tel (+27) 084 300 5763 Fax 086 605 8265 Email Web 43 Balfour Road, Rondebosch, 7700 PO Box 15298, Vlaeberg, 8018 MA Cooper Attorneys Execution after Judgment: 1 week 2 4 weeks 1 week 1 3 weeks 3 6 weeks Judgment for money owed The attorney drafts a Warrant of Execution ( the Warrant ) and hands it in at the Clerk of the Court in which the Judgment was given.
2 The Warrant shows the total of the debt claimed, as well as any interest and legal costs owed, and instructs the Sheriff to Attach movable goods to the value of the total amount of the Warrant. (If the legal costs still need to be taxed, this will also be shown in the Warrant and when it has been taxed, a separate Warrant will be done to recover those costs.) The Clerk of the Court will issue the Warrant after checking the Court file to make sure that the Judgment on which the Warrant is based, does in fact exist. The Warrant is collected from the Clerk of the Court and sent to the Sheriff to carry out the Attachment in Execution ( the Attachment ).
3 (In the same way that the Courts have jurisdiction over certain areas, Sheriffs have jurisdiction over certain areas. The Sheriff responsible for the Attachment might be in a different area from where the Court is. It is worthwhile knowing this because it can influence the time it takes for the Warrant to reach the Sheriff. A more detailed explanation of the workings of jurisdiction is matter for another Grey Space.) When the Sheriff receives the Warrant, they will send out a Deputy to serve the Warrant on the Debtor and carry out the Attachment.
4 This means that, if the Debtor does not pay immediately, the Deputy makes an inventory of movable goods to the value of the total amount of the Warrant. The Sheriff DOES NOT REMOVE the Attached goods at this stage, but if the Debtor does away with the Attached/inventoried goods in any way, he will be in contempt of Court, which is a criminal offence. The Attachment stays valid for 4 months, and if the Judgment Creditor wants to keep the goods under Attachment once the 4 months are over, an application for the extension of the Attachment must be made to Court.
5 MA Cooper Attorneys Michael A Cooper Sole Proprietor Tel (+27) 084 300 5763 Fax 086 605 8265 Email Web 43 Balfour Road, Rondebosch, 7700 PO Box 15298, Vlaeberg, 8018 MA Cooper Attorneys 2 3 weeks 2 3 weeks 2 3 weeks Note: This document does not constitute professional legal advice and should be used as a guide only. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Once the Deputy has carried out the Attachment, he will compile and send to the Judgment Creditor a report, called the Sheriff s Return of Service, showing who they dealt with at the Debtor s premises and what they Attached/inventoried.
6 The Sheriff will then ask the Judgment Creditor whether they should Remove and Sell the Attached goods. Once the Sheriff is instructed to remove goods, and is provided with Security by the Judgment Creditor to protect the Sheriff from any claims which may arise out of the Removal of the Attached Goods, the Sheriff will Remove goods. On receipt of the Sheriff s Return of Service, the Judgment Creditor has leverage over the Debtor. The threat of Removal and Sale of the Attached goods often results in the Debtor paying the debt or coming to a payment arrangement whereby the debt is paid off over time.
7 As long as the Attachment stays in place the Judgment Creditor will have this leverage, which is why, if the Debtor for instance agreed to pay the debt off over time, it might become necessary to extend the Attachment for a period longer than the initial 4 months. Alternatively, if even this threat is not enough to get the Debtor to settle the debt, the Judgment Creditor can supply the necessary Security and instruct the Sheriff to continue to Remove and Sell the Attached goods. Only on receipt of this specific instruction will the Sheriff send out his Deputy to physically REMOVE the Attached goods.
8 The goods Removed are kept in the Sheriff s storage until the date of the next Sheriff s auction. Either the Sheriff, or the Judgment Creditor will place the necessary advertisements in the Government Gazette and a regional newspaper to advertise the Sale in Execution of the Attached goods. The Sheriffs have regular auctions, but whether it is weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, will depend on the Sheriff and on when the required advertisements were placed. This is because by law the advertisements must be placed at least 2 weeks before the auction date.
9 As a result it will take about 3 6 weeks before an auction will happen.
