Distraint

Distraint or distress is "the seizure of someone's property in order to obtain payment of rent or other money owed", especially in common law countries. Distraint is the act or process "whereby a person (the distrainor), traditionally even without prior court approval, seizes the personal property of another located upon the distrainor's land in satisfaction of a claim, as a pledge for performance of a duty, or in reparation of an injury." Distraint typically involves the seizure of goods (chattels) belonging to the tenant by the landlord to sell the goods for the payment of the rent. In the past, distraint was often carried out without court approval. Today, some kind of court action is usually required, the main exception being certain tax authorities – such as HM Revenue and Customs in the United Kingdom and the Internal Revenue Service in the United States – and other agencies that retain the legal power to levy assets (by either seizure or distraint) without a court order.

History

Article 61 of Magna Carta extended the law of distraint to the monarch's properties, including "our castles, lands, possessions, or anything else saving only our own person and those of the queen and our children".

In England in 1267 the Statute of Marlborough was passed making distraint unlawful without a court order.

Chapter 1 [of the Statute of Marlborough 1267] provided that all persons "as well of high as of low estate" were to receive justice in the King's court. No individual was to be entitled to seek "revenge or distress of his own authority" against his neighbour for any damage or injury suffered without first obtaining an award from the court.

Distress in this context was (and still is) a summary remedy designed to secure performance of an obligation or settlement of an outstanding debt. First, it was the bedrock of the notion that all citizens, irrespective of rank, were entitled to seek civil justice through the king's court or courts.