Title 10
Courts and Civil Procedure — Procedure in Particular Actions

Chapter 5
Attachment

§ 10-5-2. Procedure. [Effective until January 1, 2026.]

(a) A court having jurisdiction over a defendant or his or her assets, including his or her personal estate or real estate, may authorize a plaintiff to attach the defendant’s assets, or any part thereof, after hearing on a motion to attach, notice of which has been given to the defendant as provided in this section. At the time of the commencement of the action, or at any time thereafter, a plaintiff must file a motion in the court having jurisdiction for authority to attach the defendant’s assets, including his or her personal or real estate, and the attachment motion must state the day, time and place of hearing and a copy must be served by the process server on the defendant or by leaving it at his or her last and usual place of abode with some person there at least five (5) days before the fixed date of hearing.

(b) If the defendant does not reside in the state, service of the attachment motion shall be made upon him or her by mailing a copy of the motion to attach, by certified mail, to his or her last known address and, if service is made in this manner, the plaintiff or his or her attorney must attach the sender’s receipt to an affidavit of compliance with this section by the plaintiff or his or her attorney and filing it with the case in the court.

(c) If the plaintiff after diligent search and by affidavit avers that he or she does not know of the defendant’s address, service on the defendant of the motion to attach may after order of the court be made by publication in some public newspaper, once, published in the town, city or county where the defendant’s assets are situated. If there is no public newspaper published in the town, city or county where the defendant’s assets are situated, then in some public newspaper published in the city of Providence. Provided, however, that in all actions where the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant has been reduced to a judgment, the defendant’s assets, including his or her personal estate and real estate, may be attached and may be subject to trustee process as set out in chapter 17 of this title in the same action in which the judgment has been entered.

§ 10-5-2. Procedure. [Effective January 1, 2026.]

(a) A court having jurisdiction over a defendant or the defendant’s assets, including the defendant’s personal estate or real estate, may authorize a plaintiff to attach the defendant’s assets, or any part thereof, after hearing on a motion to attach, notice of which has been given to the defendant as provided in this section. At the time of the commencement of the action, or at any time thereafter, a plaintiff must file a motion in the court having jurisdiction for authority to attach the defendant’s assets, including the defendant’s personal or real estate, and the attachment motion must state the day, time, and place of hearing and a copy must be served by the process server on the defendant or by leaving it at the defendant’s last and usual place of abode with some person there at least five (5) days before the fixed date of hearing; provided that, no attachment shall be filed against a defendant’s principal residence for a judgment in any action where the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant was based on medical debt. For the purpose of this section, “medical debt” shall have the same meaning as defined in § 6-60-1.

(b) If the defendant does not reside in the state, service of the attachment motion shall be made upon the defendant by mailing a copy of the motion to attach, by certified mail, to the defendant’s last known address and, if service is made in this manner, the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney must attach the sender’s receipt to an affidavit of compliance with this section by the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney and filing it with the case in the court.

(c) If the plaintiff after diligent search and by affidavit avers that the plaintiff does not know of the defendant’s address, service on the defendant of the motion to attach may after order of the court be made by publication in some public newspaper, once, published in the town, city, or county where the defendant’s assets are situated. If there is no public newspaper published in the town, city, or county where the defendant’s assets are situated, then in some public newspaper published in the city of Providence. Provided, however, that in all actions where the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant has been reduced to a judgment, the defendant’s assets, including the defendant’s personal estate and real estate, may be attached and may be subject to trustee process as set out in chapter 17 of this title in the same action in which the judgment has been entered.