If the principal defendant has not appeared generally, nor been served with process, and the sole ground of jurisdiction of the court is the right to sue out the attachment, and this right be decided against the plaintiff, the petition shall be dismissed at the cost of the plaintiff; but if the plaintiff's claim be due at the hearing, and the court would otherwise have jurisdiction of an action against such defendant for the cause set forth in the petition, and such defendant has appeared generally, or been served with process, it shall retain the cause and proceed to final judgment as in other actions at law.
§ 8.01-569.When petition dismissed; when retained and cause tried.
Chapter 20. Attachments and Bail in Civil Cases · Article 3. Subsequent Proceedings Generally · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceIf the principal defendant never appeared generally or was served, and the court’s only basis for jurisdiction was the right to attach, losing that attachment right means dismissal of the petition at the plaintiff’s cost; but if the claim was due and the defendant appeared generally or was served, the court instead keeps the case and proceeds to a final judgment like any ordinary action at law.
Full Text of § 8.01-569
Plain-English Summary
Attachment can serve two different roles in a case — sometimes it is the only reason the court has any authority over the defendant at all, and sometimes it is just a security measure layered onto a case the court would hear anyway. This section sorts out what happens to the underlying petition depending on which role the attachment was playing when the right to attach falls through.
If the principal defendant never appeared generally and was never served, and the attachment itself was the sole basis for the court’s jurisdiction, then losing the fight over the attachment’s validity ends the case entirely — the petition gets dismissed, with the plaintiff on the hook for costs. But if the defendant did appear generally or was served, and the claim was already due at the hearing, and the court would have had jurisdiction over an ordinary lawsuit on that same claim anyway, the case does not disappear. The court keeps it and carries it through to final judgment the same way it would handle any other action at law.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must the petition be dismissed if the attachment right is decided against the plaintiff?
When the principal defendant has not appeared generally or been served, and the sole ground of the court’s jurisdiction was the right to sue out the attachment.
Who pays the costs if the petition is dismissed under this section?
The plaintiff.
When does the court retain the case instead of dismissing it?
When the plaintiff’s claim is due at the hearing, the court would otherwise have jurisdiction over an action on that claim, and the defendant has appeared generally or been served with process.
What happens to a retained case?
The court proceeds to final judgment as in other actions at law.
Does losing the attachment always end the underlying claim?
No. If the court has independent jurisdiction because the defendant appeared or was served, the case continues even if the attachment itself does not survive.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-557; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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