Third-party ownership claim

The third-party ownership claim is the route by which a person asserting ownership or a pledge over attached property seeks release of the attachment. Claims that goods found during an attachment at the debtor's home or business actually belong to someone else are its typical subject.

The claim may be recorded in the attachment minutes on the spot or raised later within the statutory period. The statute prescribes different procedures depending on possession: for goods in the debtor's hands, a presumption of ownership favours the debtor and the third party must sue; where the goods are in the third party's hands, the burden of suing shifts to the creditor.

The case is heard by the enforcement court, which decides, against security, whether the proceeding is stayed. Ownership claims among family members and cohabitants face strict proof standards, and whose name appears on invoices and payment records often decides the outcome in practice.