(a) Seizure of Person or Property . At the commencement of and during the course of an action all remedies providing for seizure of person or property for the purpose of securing satisfaction of the judgment ultimately to be entered in the action are available under the circumstances and in the manner provided by law.
Rule 64.Remedies for seizure, remedies not provided
Group VIII: Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 64 preserves South Carolina's existing remedies for seizing a person or property to secure eventual satisfaction of a judgment, and falls back on prior state practice for any remedy that neither a statute nor the civil rules otherwise address.
Full Text of Rule 64
(b) Remedies Not Provided . In any case where no provision is made by statute or by these rules, the procedures and remedies shall be according to the practice as it has heretofore existed in the courts of this State.
Notes
Note: This Rule 64(a) is the language of the first sentence of the Federal Rule, the remainder being applicable
Plain-English Summary
Rule 64 is a bridge rule rather than a rule that creates new remedies. Subsection (a) confirms that remedies for seizing a person or property, at the commencement of and throughout an action, to secure eventual satisfaction of a judgment remain available under the circumstances and in the manner state law already provides.
Subsection (b) fills the gaps. Where neither a statute nor the civil rules address a particular remedy, the court follows the procedures and remedies that existed in South Carolina practice before the rules took effect. That preserves continuity — adopting the civil rules did not eliminate remedies the rules happen not to mention.
Where a remedy does get detailed treatment elsewhere in the rules, that more specific rule controls the procedure. Injunctions and the remedial writs, for instance, are governed by Rule 65's notice, security, and form requirements; Rule 64 confirms the remedy's continued availability without displacing the rule written specifically for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of relief does Rule 64 cover?
Remedies aimed at seizing a person or property to secure satisfaction of whatever judgment a court eventually enters in the action, available under the same terms state law already recognizes.
Does Rule 64 create a new attachment or seizure procedure?
No. It points to remedies that already exist under South Carolina statute and prior practice rather than establishing new ones.
What happens if no statute or civil rule addresses the remedy a party wants?
Rule 64(b) directs the court to the procedures and remedies that existed in South Carolina courts before the civil rules took effect.
How does Rule 64 relate to Rule 65's injunctions?
Where the rules specifically address a remedy, such as injunctions and remedial writs under Rule 65, that rule's procedure governs rather than the general preservation language of Rule 64.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: seizure of property South Carolinaprejudgment attachment South Carolinaprovisional remedies South Carolinaattachment and garnishment rule