LEVY. To raise. Webster, Diet. To levy a nuisance, i. e. to raise or do a nuisance, 9 Co. 55; to levy a fine, i. e. to raise or ac knowledge a fine, 2 Bla. Com. 357; 1 Steph. Corn. 236 ; to levy a tax, i. e. to raise or col lect a tax ; to levy war, i. e. to begin war, to take arms for attack ; 4 Bla. Com. 81; to levy an execution, i. c. to raise or levy so much money on execution ; Reg. Orig. 298.
A seizure ; the raising of the money for which an execution has been issued.
In order to make a valid levy on personal property, the sheriff must have it within his power and control, or at least within his view; and if, having it so, he makes a levy upon it, it will be good if followed up afterwards within a reasonable time by his taking possession in such manner as to ap prise everybody of the fact of its having been taken into execution. See Carey v. Ins. Co., 84 Wis. 80, 54 N. W. 18, 20 L. R. A. 267, 36 Am. St. Rep. 907; Perry v. Hardison, 99 N. C. 21, 5 S. E. 230; Dorrier v. Masters, 83 Va. 459, 2 S. E. 927. To constitute a levy, a seizure is necessary, if from the nature of the property that is possible, but if not, then some act as nearly equivalent as practicable must be substituted for it ; Long v. Hall, 97 N. C. 286, 2 S. E. 229. It is not necessary that an inventory should be made, nor that the sheriff should immediately remove the goods or put a person in possession; Wood v. Vanarsdale, 3 Rawle (Pa.) 405; Barnes v. Billington, 1 Wash. C. C. 29, Fed. Cas. No. 1,015 ; Linton v. Com., 46 Pa. 294. See De laney v. Martin, 51 N. J. L. 148, 16 Atl. 189. A levy of an attachment effected in the night time by opening a window, or forcing an outer door of the house containing the goods, is valid ; Solinsky v. Bank, 85 Tenn. 368, 4 S. W. 836. A levy on a leasehold need not be in view of the premises if sufficiently de scriptive; Appeal of Titusville Novelty Iron Works, 77 Pa. 103. The usual mode of mak
ing levy upon real estate is to describe the land which has been seized under the execu tion, by metes and bounds, as in a deed of conveyance; 1 T. & H. Pr. § 1216. See John son v. Walker, 23 Neb. 736, 37 N. W. 639. The lien of an attachment on real estate levied upon, dates from the time the officer indorses the levy on the writ; Riordan v. Britton, 69 'Tex. 198, 7 S. W. 50, 5 Am. St. Rep. 37.
Property cannot be placed in custodia legis by an unauthorized levy; The Bonnie Doon, 36 Fed. 770. Retaining possession under a levy is not necessary to preserve the lieu of the levy against a subsequent deed of as signment by the debtor ; Sawyer v. Bray, 102 N. C. 79, 8 S. E. 885, 11 Am. St. Rep. 713; where the debt and costs are paid before seizure there is no levy : 9 L. J. Q. B. 232; 3 P. & D. 511; or where the g. fa. was, after seizure but before sale, set aside for irregu larity; 31 L. J. C. P. 361; or where the sale was prevented by a compromise between the parties; 5 Term 470. See POUNDAGE ; EXE CUTION.
It is a general rule that when a sufficient levy has been made the officer cannot make a second ; Hoyt v. Hudson, 12 Johns. (N. Y.) 208 ; Ontario Bank v. Hallett, 8 Cew. (N. Y.) 192.
If an officer violates his duty, by making an excessive levy on property pointed out, he is liable for such special damages as the defendant may incur thereby ; Barfield v. Barfield, 77 Ga. 83 ; and when damages re sult from the wrongful seizure under judi cial process of property exempt, not only the officer making the seizure but those for whom it was made and who ratified the act, as well as those who direct it, are liable in dam ages ; Brown v. Bridges, 70 Tex. 661, 8 S. W. 502. See ATTACHMENT.