§ 9-13-94.Forthcoming bond for possession of property; amount and condition; not authorized for realty; when and where recoverable

Filing an oath and the damages bond under Code Sections 9-13-90 and 9-13-91 stops the sale, but it says nothing about who holds the property while the claim is pending. This section fills that gap for personal property, and it draws a bright line against extending the same tool to land.

Under subsection (a), when a claimant wants possession of levied property, the officer’s duty is to take a bond payable to the sheriff, with good security, in a sum equal to double the value of the property as estimated by the levying officer. The bond’s condition is to deliver the property at the time and place of sale, provided the property is found subject to the execution. Notice the different payee here: where the Code Section 9-13-91 damages bond runs to the plaintiff, this forthcoming bond runs to the sheriff, reflecting its different purpose — securing the property’s return, not securing a damages award. The statute also draws a firm boundary: it is not lawful to require or take a forthcoming bond for real estate, so this possession mechanism belongs to disputes over goods and chattels, not land.

Subsection (b) completes the picture. Once the bond and security are given, the officer’s duty is to leave the property with the claimant. If the claimant or the security later fails to deliver the property after it has been found subject to execution, the bond becomes recoverable in any court having cognizance of the matter — not only the court that tried the claim.