Pennsylvania Act 1915-321 — ARRESTED PERSONS IN CIVIL ACTIONS, DISCHARGE

Act text

ARRESTED PERSONS IN CIVIL ACTIONS, DISCHARGE
                  Act of Jun. 1, 1915, P.L. 704, No. 321              Cl. 39
                                  AN ACT

     Providing for the discharge of persons arrested or held on
        process issued on a judgment obtained in civil actions.

        Section 1.  Be it enacted, &c., That from and after the
     passage of this act, any person arrested or held in custody, on
     or by virtue of any process issued on a judgment obtained in any
     civil action in this Commonwealth, may present his petition to
     the court, or any law judge thereof, out of which the process or
     execution issues, praying for his discharge from arrest. The
     petition shall set forth the nature of the proceedings out of
     which the process, upon which the petitioner is held, issued,
     the amount of the judgment therein obtained, a schedule of all
     the assets of the petitioner, a list of the creditors of the
     petitioner with the amounts of their claims; the addresses of
     the creditors, and the nature of the debts owning to them; a
     statement as to why the petitioner is unable to pay the
     judgment, and shall be verified by the affidavit of the
     petitioner.
        Section 2.  The court to which the petition is presented
     shall grant a rule to show cause why the petitioner shall not be
     discharged from arrest, returnable at some convenient time, and
     shall discharge the petitioner, pending the hearing of the said
     rule, upon his entering such security for his appearance,
     surrender, and compliance with the decree of the court as the
     court shall deem requisite.
        Section 3.  Actual notice of the hearing of the rule shall be
     given to the plaintiff in the process, or his counsel of record,
     and to all the creditors whose addresses are known to the
     petitioner; and publication of the hearing of the said rule
     shall be made twice in a daily newspaper in the county, and once
     in the legal periodical, if any, designated by the court, and an
     affidavit of the service of the notices upon the creditors and
     of the publication shall be filed at or before the time fixed
     for the hearing of the rule.
        Section 4.  Upon the hearing of the rule the petitioner shall
     be required to answer all questions put to him, and shall
     produce all books and papers required to him; and if it shall
     appear to the court that the petitioner is without means or
     property with which to pay the judgment, and that he has not
     secreted or assigned any of his property so as to avoid the
     payment of the judgment, the court may discharge him from arrest
     and in said proceedings; but such discharge shall not in any way
     affect the judgment entered against him. Any person arrested or
     held in custody on or by virtue of, any process issued on a
     judgment obtained in any civil action in this Commonwealth shall
     be discharged at the expiration of sixty days from the date of
     the commitment, if compliance is had with all the requirements
     of this act and all other acts of Assembly relating to
     insolvency.