A garnishee who is a common carrier may transport or deliver property actually loaded on a conveyance, notwithstanding the service upon him or her of an order of attachment, if it was loaded without reason to believe that an order of attachment affecting the property had been granted, unless the claiming authority gives an undertaking in an amount fixed by the court, that the claiming authority shall pay any such carrier all expenses and damages which may be incurred for unloading the property and for detention of the conveyance necessary for that purpose.
§ 1323.Additional undertaking to carrier garnishee
Article 13-A. Proceeds of Crime—forfeiture · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1323 lets a common carrier keep transporting or delivering property already loaded on a conveyance despite an attachment order served on it, unless the claiming authority posts an undertaking covering the carrier's costs and damages from unloading and detaining the shipment.
Full Text of CPLR 1323
Plain-English Summary
Section 1323 solves a narrow, practical problem: a shipment already loaded and moving when an attachment order is served on the carrier. A common carrier caught in that position may keep transporting or delivering the property, so long as it was loaded without reason to believe an attachment order affected it. Commerce does not have to stop over cargo the carrier had no way of knowing was subject to a court order.
If the claiming authority wants the shipment stopped, it must post an undertaking, in an amount the court fixes, to cover the carrier's expenses and damages for unloading the property and detaining the conveyance for that purpose. The section places the cost of interrupting a carrier's business on the claiming authority rather than on the carrier caught in the middle.
Frequently Asked Questions
If my property is already on a truck or ship when an attachment is served on the carrier, does the carrier have to unload it?
Not automatically: the carrier may keep transporting or delivering the property if it was loaded without reason to believe an attachment order affected it, unless the claiming authority posts an undertaking.
What must the claiming authority do to stop a shipment already in transit?
Post an undertaking, in a court-fixed amount, to pay the carrier's expenses and damages for unloading and detaining the conveyance.
Does this section protect the carrier from liability for continuing to deliver the property?
Yes, so long as the property was loaded without reason to believe an attachment order affected it.
Who pays the carrier's costs if a shipment is stopped under this section?
The claiming authority, through the undertaking it must post before the carrier is required to unload and detain the shipment.
Does this protection apply to any garnishee, or only common carriers?
Only common carriers; the general rules that apply to garnishees served with an order of attachment appear in sections 1320 and 1325.
Amendment History
Add, L 1984, ch 669, § 1, eff Aug 1, 1984 and applicable to crimes committed on and after Aug 1, 1984.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: carrier garnishee attachment New Yorkshipment attachment forfeiture New Yorkcommon carrier undertaking forfeiturefreight in transit attachment New York