levy

to make a valid levy on goods and chattels on a writ of fi. fa., if the officer charged with the duty has a view of them, and they are in his power, and he declares that he makes a levy or seizure of them in execution, such is a valid levy, without taking them into his possession

To raise. Webster. To levy a nuisance, i. e., to raise or do a nuisance (9 Coke, 55); to levy a fine, i. e., to raise or acknowledge a fine (2 Bl. Comm. 357; 1 Steph. Comm. 236); to levy a tax, i. e., to raise or collect a tax; to levy war, i. e., to raise or begin war, to take arms for attack (4 Bl. Comm. 81); to levy an execution, i. e., to raise or levy so much money on execution (Reg. Orig. 298). In Practice. The raising of the money for which an execution has been issued. The seizing of property under an execution.

To raise. Webster, Diet. To levy a nuisance, i. e. to raise or do a nuisance, knowledge a fine, 2 Bla. Com 357; 1 Steph. Com. 236; to levy a tax, i. e. to raise or collect a tax; to levy war, i, e. to begin war, to take arms for attack; 4 Bla. Com. 81; to levy an execution, i. c. to raise or levy so much money on execution; Reg. Orig. 298. A seizure; the raising of the money for which an execution has been Issued. In order to make a valid levy on personal property, the sheriff must have It within his power and control, or at least within his view; and if, having it so, he makes a levy upon it, it will be good if followed up afterwards withlq a reasonable time by his taking posses.sion in such manner as to apprise everybody of the fact of its having been taken into execution. See Carey v. Ins. Co., 84 Wis. 80, 54 N. W. 18, 20 L. R. A. 267, 36 Am. St. Rep. 907; Perry v. Hardison, 99 N. C. 21, 5 S. E. 230; Dorrier v. Masters, 83 Va. 459, 2 S. E. 927. To constitute a levy, a seizure is necessary. If from the nature of the property that is possible, but if not, then some act as nearly equivalent as practicable must be substituted for it; Long v. Hall, 97 N. C. 286, 2 S. E. 229. It is not necessary that an inventory should be made, nor that the sheriff should immediately remove the goods or put a person in possession; Wood V. Vanarsdale, 3 Rawle (Pa.) 405; Barnes V. Billington, 1 Wash. C. C. 29, Fed. Cas. No. 1,015; Linton v. Com., 46 Pa. 294. See Delaney V. Martin, 51 N. J. L. 148, 16 Atl. 189. A levy of an attachment effected in the night time by opening a window, or forcing an outer door of the house containing the goods, is valid: Sollnsky v. Bank, 85 Tenn. 368, 4 S. W. 836. A levy on a leasehold need not be in view of the premises if sufficiently descriptive; Appeal of Titusville Novelty Iron Works, 77 Pa. 103. The usual mode of making levy upon real estate Is to describe the land which has been seized under the execution, by metes and bounds, as in a deed of conveyance; 1 T. & H. Pr. § 1216. See Johnson V. Walker, 23 Neb. 736, 37 N. W. 639. The lien of an attachment on real estate levied ui Jon, dates from the time the officer indorses the levy on the writ; Riordan v. Britton, 69 Tex. 198, 7 S. W. 50, 6 Am. St Rep. 37. Property cannot be placed in custodia legis by an unauthorized levy; The Bonnie Doon, 36 Fed. 770. Retaining possession under a levy Is not necessary to preserve the lien of the levy against a subsequent deed of assignment by the debtor; Sawyer v. Bray, 102 N. C. 79, 8 S. E. 885, 11 Am. St Rep. 713; where the debt and costs are paid before seizure there is no levy: 9 L. J. Q. B. 232; 3 P. & D. 611; or where the fi. fa. was, after seizure but before sale, set aside for irregularity; 31 L. J. C. P. 361; or where the sale was prevented by a compromise between the parties; 5 Term 470. See Poundage; Exe- It l8 a general rule that when a sufficient levy has been made the officer cannot make a second; Hoyt v. Hudson, 12 Johns. (N. Y.) 208; Ontario Bank v. Hallett, 8 Cow. (N. Y.) 102. If an officer violates his duty, by making an excessive levy on property pointed out, he Is liable for such special damages as the defendant may Incur thereby; Barfleld v. Barfield, 77 Ga. 83; and when damages result from the wrongful seizure under judicial process of property exempt, not only the officer making the seizure but those for whom it was made and who ratified the act, as well as those who direct it, are liable in damages; Brown V. Bridges, 70 Tex. 661, 8 S. W. 502.' See ArrACHMENT.

n.

In practice. A seizure; the raising of the money for which an exechtion has bcen issued.

— Equitable levy. The lien in equity created by the filing of a creditors' bili to subject real property of the debtor, and of a lis pendens, is sometimes so calied. Miller v. Sherry, 2 Wall. 249, 17 L. Ed. 827 ; Mandeville v. Campbell, 45 App. Div. 512, 61 N. Y. Supp. 443; George v. Railroad Ca. (G. C.) 44 Fed. 120.

To collect by execution; to take or seize in execution.

In old English law. To raise, lift, cast, throw, set or put up; to erect or build; to make or construct In later law, to carry on certain proceedings at law, especially those peculiar to fines of lands; to acknowledge a fine.

v. To raise; execute; sch a sum of money

6 1. To raise, lift up; to create, erect, construct; to institute: as, to levy a fine. See Fine, 1. Levy war. To constitute levying war against the United States, there must be an assemblage of persons with force and arms to overthrow the government or resist the laws.'' See Wae; Treason. ■ See B. S. §§ 875, 4071-7,4, 4761-68; 1 Sup. E. S. p. 266; Weeks, Dep. §§ 13&-30; 1 Greenl. Ev. § 820. 2 See Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co. v. Tisdale, 91 U. S. 243 (1876). ^F.: L. levantes et cubantes. Eng. pronunciation, le'-vant; couch'-ant. ' [3 Bl. Com. 9; 1 B. & A. 711; 5 T. E. 48. "Bassv. State,.34 La. An. 494 (1882), BSrmud'ez, C. J. Contra, Ho Uingsworth v. Parish of Tensas, 17 F. E. 109 (1883). * F. lever: L. levare, to raise. ' United States v. Greathouse, 4 Saw. 465-66, 475-79 2. (1) To do the acts by which a sheriff sets apart and appropriates, for the purpose of satisfying the command of a writ of execution, a part or the whole of a defendant's property.! (3) The taking possession of property by an ofl Scer. 2 Generally, all that is required is that Qie property should be present before the officer, subject to his control, and that he openly state that he levies upon it by virtue of an execution. He must perform some act which not only indicates an intention to seize the property, but he must reduce the property to possession, or at least bring it within his immediate control. A "pen-and-ink" levy is not sudcient. He must do some act which, if not protected by the writ, would make him a trespasser.^ See Custody, Of law; Distress. Equitable levy. Filing a creditor's bill and serving process creates a lien in equity upon the effects of the judgment debtor, aptly tei'med an " equitable levy." i 3. (1) To exact by authority of government: as, to levy a tax, or troops. (2) That which is called for or obtained by the requisition: as, a levy of men, a tax levy. " Levy " is synonymous with " collect " or *' raise " by execution. To " assess " a tax is to declare it payable.5 See Tax, 2. Levy court. The body charged with the administration of the ministerial and iinancial duties of Washington county. District of Columbia, as to roads, bridges, the poor, taxes, etc. Its functions are those which in the States are performed by county commissioners, overseers of the poor, ooimty supervisors, and similar bodies with other designations.^

1. To raise. 2. To execute. 3. To collect, take or seize.

n. and v. 1. The verb, in old English law, was used to signify to raise or lift up; to cast or throw up; to set or put up; to erect or build; to make or construct. To levy a house or mill, a dyke or pond, and to levy a nuisance, are examples of this use of the word. 2. Later, the verb became employed in the sense of to carry on proceedings incident to a fine of lauds; thus, to levy a fine became a usual expression. 3. In modem practice, the verb levy is used as meaning to take into legal custody, in obedience to the writ, property to satisfy a process such as attachment or Jieri facias, which calls for a seizure of lands or goods. And the noun levy means the act of taking property under process; the seizure. In this connection, the words are sometimes extended to include the entire execution of the process, the collecting the money; but, strictly, only the seizure is signified. Such kinds of property, and such interests or rights having the nature of ownership as are subject to levy, and may be taken to satisfy an attachment or execution, are termed leviable. 4. The verb levy is also used, in reference to the administration of government, in the sense of to exact by authority. Thus, to levy a tax sometimes means to assess or impose a tax (see, however, Valle v. Fargo, cited below); and to levy a military force, is for the sovereign power to call upon a vassal or district to furnish a quota of troops towards impending military operations. In this connection, the noun often signifies that which is called for or obtained by an authoritative requisition. Thus a tax levy means the total sum to be raised by a tax; the levies, in speaking of preparations for war, are the contributions of men which the sovereign has received or expects from his subjects, or from districts of country subject to him. The phrase to levy bears different significations, according to its object. To levy war is to make war; to levy money is to exact it. And although its application to the facias may be comparatively modern, yet the expression " to levy on goods and chattels " is one that has been long used in the English law; and, wherever found, it means to do the act or acts by which a sheriff sets apart and appropriates, for the purpose of satisfying the command of his writ, a part or the whole of the defendant's goods and chattels. The usual mode of levying, in England, is by seizing the goods, or, if they are collected in one place, by seizing part in the name of the whole. But actual touch is not necessary. It is enough if the officer, at the time of levying, have the goods in his presence, and peaceably under his control. Lloyd V. Wycoff, 11 'N. J. L. 218, 227. Compare Princeton Bank v. Crozer, 22 Id. 383.. Applied to taxes, levy means not to assess a tax, but to collect it; raise it by execution; enforce payment. Hence a covenant that lessee shall pay all taxes to be levied during the term does not bind him to pay taxes assessed during the term, but which do not become due and collectible till after its expiration. Valle v. Fargo, 1 Mo. App. 344. To constitute a valid levy of an execution on personal property, the sheriff must do such acts as would subject him to an action of trespass, but for the protection of the execution. Allen v. Mc Calla, 25 Iowa, 464; Mc Burnie v. Overstreet, 8 B. Man. 300; Rives ». Porter, 7 Ired. L. 74; Minor v. Ilerriford, 25 lU. 344; Westervelt v. Pinckney, 14 Wend. 123; Minor v. Smith, 13 Ohio St. 79. It is essential to the valid levy of an execution on personal property that the officer should take actual possession of it. Banks V. Evans, 18 Miss. 35; s. p. State v. Poor, 4 Dev. i- B. L. 384. To constitute a levy, the officer must take actual control of the property Levy r. Shockley, 29 Ga. 710; Minturn v. Stryker, 1 Edm. Sel. Cos. 356; Brown v. Pratt, 4 Wis. 513. To constitute a valid levy under an execution, the property levied must be at the time in the power or the view of the sheriff. Linton v. Ford, 46 Pa. St. 294; Dresser ?■. Ainsworth, 9 Barb. 619; Mc Donald u. Gifford, 6 Pha. 315. To make a valid levy, the sheriff must have the goods within his view, and under his power. Merely seizing a few articles outside of a warehouse or store, and proclaiming a levy on the goods locked up in the store, and not within view, is not a good and valid levy; he ought, if necessary, to break open the store, and actually seize the goods, and take an inventory of them. Haggerty v. Wilber, 16 Johns. 287. To make a valid levy on personal property, the sheriff m\ist have the property within his power and control, or at least witliin his view, unless the defendant acknowledges a levy by executing a delivery can's Appeal, 37 Id. 600; Cary v. Bright, 58 Id. 70. To constitute a levy, the officer should enter upon the premises where the goods are, and take actual possession of them (if they are such that possession of them can be taken). The goods should be brought within his view, and subjected to his control; and it is proper also, if not necessary, that an inventory should be taken. The officer should assert his title to them by virtue of the execution; and his acts should be public, open, and unequivocal, and, it would seem, such as to subject him to an action as a trespasser but for the protection of the execution. Beekman v. Lansing, 3 Wend. 446. See also Westervelt v. Pinckney, 14 Id. 123; Green v. Burke, 23 Id. 490; Camp v. Chamberlain, 5 Den. 198; Connah v. Hale, 23 Wend. 462. To constitute a levy, the officer must take actual possession, and for this purpose the goods should be within his view, and subject to his disposition and control, though it is not necessary that he should remove them, or continue in actual possession. A waiver of these requisites may bind the defendant, but is not a levy, and cannot affect conflicting executions. E.ay V. Harcourt, 19 Wend. 495; Van Wyck v. Pine, 2 HiU, 666. And see Gordon v. Gilfoil, 27 La. Ann. 265. An officer need not take entire manual possession of property levied on. Very v. Watkins, 23 How. 469; Robuck v. Thornton, 19 (?a. 149; Barker v. Binninger, 14 N. Y. 270; Bond v. Willett, 31 Id. 102; Bullitt V. Winstons, 1 Munf. 269. If the property is present, subject to the officer's control, and he openly states that he levies upon it, asserting his authority over it by virtue of the execution, these things are enough. Barker v. Binninger, 14 N. Y. 270; Sheffield v. Key, 14 Ga. 528; Hill V. Harris, 10 B. Mon. 120; Jayne v. Dillon, 28 Miss. 283; Caldwell v. Fifield, 24