Attachment (in the context of a court judgment)
Attachment is a legal process in civil ligation whereby a creditor can request that property owned by a judgment debtor, can be transferred or sold for their benefit. A judgment debtor’s property is said to be “attached” to the judgment debt to facilitate its satisfaction.
One of the most common types of requests that is made to the court to attach property owned by a judgment debtor to a judgment debt is a garnishee or attachment of earnings order. A court may order a judgment debtor’s employer to make re-direct payment of a judgment debtor’s wages or salary to a judgment creditor in order to satisfy a judgment debt.
Pursuant to section 117 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) a garnishee order operates to attach all debts (to the extent of a judgment debt) that are due or accruing from the garnishee (i.e. an employee) to the judgment debtor. Similar provisions are found in Order 72 of the County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2008 (Vic).