§ 488.720.Motion to Release Attachment to Extent Value of Defendant's Interest Exceeds Amount Necessary to Satisfy Amount Secured

An attachment can end up reaching more value than the plaintiff's claim requires, and Section 488.720 gives the defendant a way to trim it back. The defendant applies by noticed motion, supported by an affidavit on the facts and points and authorities on the law, to the court where the action is pending or where judgment was entered.

At the hearing, the court determines the value of the defendant's interest in the attached property and orders the attachment released to the extent that value clearly exceeds what is needed to satisfy the secured amount. After judgment has been entered, the court also factors in any unattached property already reached through an execution writ or otherwise applied toward satisfying the judgment, so the excessiveness inquiry accounts for the defendant's full exposure rather than looking at the attachment in isolation. The court generally decides based on the papers already in the record, but may take additional evidence or argument, or continue the hearing, on a good-cause showing.