Rule 66.Receivers

A receiver is a neutral custodian a court installs to hold, manage, or dispose of property while litigation sorts out who is entitled to it. Rule 66 lists the situations that justify one: property in danger of being lost, removed, or damaged, or insufficient to cover what's owed; carrying a judgment into effect or preserving property during an appeal; a writ of execution that came back unsatisfied, or a judgment debtor who won't apply property to pay the debt; a corporation that has dissolved, gone insolvent, or forfeited its corporate rights; and, as a catch-all, any other situation where courts of equity have traditionally used receivers. Neutrality matters: no party, no attorney in the case, and no one who isn't impartial toward all parties and the subject matter can serve as receiver unless every interested party consents in writing. The court can require the receiver to post security under Rule 64, and every receiver must swear or affirm to perform the job faithfully before taking office.

Once appointed, a receiver has broad court-supervised powers — bringing or defending lawsuits, seizing property, collecting and paying debts, compromising claims, investing funds, and making transfers, along with anything else the court authorizes. Two procedural safeguards apply before property changes hands: before selling, transferring, or pledging personal property, the receiver must pay any applicable taxes and file receipts proving it (or, if assets are too thin to cover the taxes, get court authorization to use sale proceeds to pay them, with receipts filed within 14 days of payment); and before a receiver takes control of real property, the receiver must record a certified copy of the appointment order with the county recorder where the property sits.