§ 34.067.Failure to Deliver Money Collected

The sharpest of the liability provisions, and the only one carrying a rate.

If an officer fails or refuses to deliver money collected under an execution when demanded by the person entitled to receive the money, the officer and the officer’s sureties are liable to the person for the amount collected and for damages at a rate of one percent a month on that amount if proven by the injured party.

This is different in kind from the rest of the subchapter. The other provisions concern judgment about property that might have been taken; this concerns money the officer already holds.

The elements are correspondingly simple. Money was collected, a demand was made by the person entitled, and it was not delivered.

No proof of what would have happened is required, because nothing hypothetical is involved — the money exists.

The demand is the trigger. Liability arises on failure or refusal when demanded, so the person entitled should make the demand and be able to prove it.

One percent a month is twelve percent a year, running on the amount collected — a rate meant to make withholding money unattractive rather than merely to compensate.

"If proven by the injured party" attaches to the damages, so the rate is not automatic and must be established.

The provision works with the distribution section, which requires money collected to be delivered at the earliest opportunity and any surplus paid immediately to the defendant. This is what happens when that duty is ignored.

Note that the claimant is "the person entitled to receive the money" — the creditor for the judgment amount, and the debtor for any surplus.