§ 9-13-122.Affidavit of illegality — Not available for excessive levy generally

An excessive levy happens when an officer seizes more property than reasonably needed to satisfy the debt, interest, and costs an execution covers. It is a real grievance, but this section keeps it out of the affidavit-of-illegality process as a general matter. The default rule is that a defendant cannot stop or unwind an execution through an affidavit of illegality merely by showing the levy reached too much property.

The reason fits the character of the remedy. An affidavit of illegality suspends the execution, sends the whole matter back to court, and can lead to a jury trial before anything moves forward again. That is a heavy process to trigger every time a levy arguably covers more property than it should. Excessive-levy disputes are ordinarily better suited to a narrower objection addressed to the court or the officer handling the levy, one that can correct the scope of the seizure without halting the execution altogether.

The section leaves room for exceptions. Where some other statute specifically authorizes an affidavit of illegality as the remedy for an excessive levy, that statute controls and the general bar in this section gives way. Absent such a statute, though, an excessive levy standing alone will not support an affidavit of illegality under this article.