Originally from:
Attachment of Assets - Looseleaf
Attachment of Assets - Electronic
Preview Page
Costa Rica
Attachment of Assets
1. What is the general nature and effect of judicial measures
available for plaintiffs to obtain provisional relief affecting
property of debtors to obtain security for judgments to be
obtained (“attachments”)? Freezing property in place? Placing
it in the custody of a third party, such as a court official, sheriff
or marshall?
The nature of the judicial measures available for plaintiffs is to
secure the possible result of the claim. These judicial measures are
known as interim or provisional measures, since they may be requested
when filing the initial claim or as motions during the proceeding. If the
Court decides in favor of the plaintiff, he/she would have an asset, as a
guarantee, to recover whatever the debtor owes him/her. Both our
Costa Rican Civil Procedures Code and our Judicial Collection
Proceeding Law regulate these interim measures.
Interim measures are usually used to freeze assets; these measures
are the following:
1. Annotation of the seizure of property (Anotación del embargo):
The plaintiff requests the annotation of the claim into the asset’s
record and the judge orders the Public Registry to make the
annotation. This annotation is kind of a warning for potential
buyers of the property or vehicle, which are aware that the asset
could be auctioned if the judge decides in favor of the creditor.
With the annotation of the seizure, the creditor will not lose the
right over the debtor’s assets, even if the debtor sells the assets to
a third party.
2. Seizure of the assets (Ejecución del embargo): The seizing of
property is normally used for movable assets such as computers,
desks, chairs, among others. The seizure is granted when the
debtor does not have properties or vehicles to guarantee the debt
during the proceeding and it is carried out by a judicial executor.
The executor places the assets in the custody of a third party
assigned by the Court, called depositario judicial.
Attachment of Assets - Looseleaf
Attachment of Assets - PDF
Roy de J. Herrera M. Socio, Partner, Arias & Muñoz, Costa Rica
