West Virginia execution: a suggestee execution runs a full year, and the creditor picks the return date
West Virginia procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
West Virginia keeps an old name for garnishment. Here it is suggestion, and the writ that reaches your wages is a writ of suggestee execution.
The distinction matters because the two writs run on very different clocks. An ordinary writ of execution comes back in thirty to ninety days, on a date the creditor chooses. A suggestee execution comes back after a year.
Three writs, three clocks
W. Va. R. Civ. P. 69(a)(1):
For payment of money. Process to enforce a judgment for the payment of money shall be a writ of execution, a writ of suggestee execution and such other writs as are provided by law. The procedure on execution and other such final process, in proceedings supplementary to and in aid of a judgment, and in proceedings on and in aid of execution or such other final process shall be in accordance with the practice and procedure prescribed by the laws of the State existing at the time the remedy is sought, subject to the following qualifications: (1) A writ of execution shall be made returnable not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days after issuance, as directed by the person procuring issuance of the writ; and (2) an answer to a summons issued in a suggestion proceeding shall be served upon the plaintiff within 21 days after service of the summons; and (3) a return on a writ of suggestee execution shall be made promptly on the expiration of one year after issuance of the writ.
| Writ or step | Timing |
|---|---|
| Writ of execution | returnable 30 to 90 days after issuance, as the creditor directs |
| Answer in a suggestion proceeding | 21 days after service of the summons |
| Return on a writ of suggestee execution | promptly on the expiration of one year |
Two features are worth pulling out.
The creditor sets the return date. Within the thirty-to-ninety-day band, the choice belongs to "the person procuring issuance of the writ", not the clerk and not the court. A writ can therefore sit live for three months.
A suggestee execution runs for a year. The return is not made until twelve months have passed, which is the practical measure of how long a wage attachment continues. It is not a snapshot and not a short-term order.
The rest is statutory: procedure follows "the laws of the State existing at the time the remedy is sought", subject only to those three qualifications.
Possession of property
Rule 69(a)(2):
For possession of property. When any judgment or order is for the delivery of possession of property, the party entitled to the benefit of such judgment or order may have a writ of possession upon application to the clerk, which shall be promptly executed and a return on such writ made within 21 days after issuance of the writ.
A writ of possession issues on application to the clerk — no motion and no hearing — and must be "promptly executed", with a return in 21 days.
That is much faster than a money execution, which is worth knowing where a judgment covers both.
Post-judgment discovery
Rule 69(b):
Obtaining discovery. In aid of the judgment or execution, the judgment creditor or a successor in interest whose interest appears of record may obtain discovery from any person-including the judgment debtor-as provided in these rules, in addition to that provided by statute.
Note the closing phrase: discovery under the rules is "in addition to" what the statutes provide, not instead of it. A creditor may use both.
The right belongs to the creditor or a successor in interest whose interest appears of record, and reaches any person.
Thirty days before anything issues
W. Va. R. Civ. P. 62(a):
Automatic stay; Except as stated in this rule, execution on a judgment and proceedings to enforce it are stayed for 30 days after its entry, unless the court orders otherwise.
Thirty days, matching the federal rule. West Virginia's version is notably short — it carries no carve-out for injunctions or receiverships, which most states place here.
Buying a stay at any time
Rule 62(b):
Stay by Bond or other security. At any time after judgment is entered, a party may obtain a stay by providing a bond or other security. The stay takes effect when the court approves the bond or other security and remains in effect for the time specified in the bond or other security.
| When | any time after judgment, no appeal required |
| Trigger | when the court approves the bond or security |
| Duration | the time specified in the security itself |
Most states attach this route to an appeal. West Virginia does not — a party may buy a stay whenever, for whatever period the security provides.
Two consequences follow. Approval is the trigger, so a bond tendered late in the thirty days may not take effect before they run out. And the stay is only as long as the instrument says, so its term is a drafting decision rather than something the rule fixes.
A stay while you attack the judgment
Rule 62(c):
Discretionary stay. In its discretion and on such conditions for the security of the adverse party as are proper, the court may stay the execution of or any proceedings to enforce a judgment pending the disposition of a motion to alter or amend a judgment made pursuant to Rule 59(e), or of a motion for relief from a judgment or order made pursuant to Rule 60, or of a motion for amendment to the findings or for additional findings made pursuant to Rule 52(b).
Three motions only: Rule 59(e), Rule 60 and Rule 52(b). West Virginia omits the Rule 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law that the federal rule and most states include, and names Rule 59(e) rather than Rule 59 as a whole.
West Virginia's Rule 60(b) year runs from the docket notation, not from when you learned of the judgment. See setting aside a West Virginia default judgment.
Rule 62(e) adds a stay aimed at appeals, granted "On motion and on such conditions for the security of the opposing party as are proper", for "such reasonable time, to be specified by the court in the stay order, as will enable the moving party to present to an appellate court an appeal from the judgment."
That is a stay measured by a purpose rather than a fixed period, and the court must state the time in the order.
Rule 62(d) covers a Rule 54(b) judgment on fewer than all claims.
Where this connects
For the case itself, see the West Virginia motion to dismiss — thirty days, then fourteen — and responding to a West Virginia complaint, where an answer needs a cover sheet.
How West Virginia compares
| West Virginia | Mississippi | Nevada | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic stay | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days from notice | 30 days |
| Injunctions carved out | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Stay by security without an appeal | yes, any time | no | no | no |
| Stay effective on | approval | — | filing, for supersedeas | filing |
| Rule 50 motion supports a stay | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Creditor picks the return date | yes, 30 to 90 days | — | — | — |
| Wage attachment runs for | one year | — | — | — |
A short checklist
- Work out which writ you are facing. An execution and a suggestee execution run on different clocks.
- Ask for the return date on a writ of execution. The creditor chose it, within 30 to 90 days.
- Expect a suggestee execution to run a full year before any return is made.
- If you are a garnishee, the answer is due in 21 days.
- Count thirty days from entry for the automatic stay.
- A bond can buy a stay at any time — but it starts on approval and lasts only as long as its own terms.
- Move under Rule 59(e), 60 or 52(b) for a discretionary stay. A Rule 50 motion is not on the list.
Where these rules live
- W. Va. R. Civ. P. 62 — Stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment
- W. Va. R. Civ. P. 69 — Executions and other final process; proceedings in aid thereof
- W. Va. R. Civ. P. 60 — Relief from judgment or order
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what property and earnings are exempt is governed by statutes this site doesn't cover.