CPLR § 6223

Vacating or modifying attachment · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 6223. Vacating or modifying attachment. (a) Motion to vacate or modify. Prior to the application of property or debt to the satisfaction of a judgment, the defendant, the garnishee or any person having an interest in the property or debt may move, on notice to each party and the sheriff, for an order vacating or modifying the order of attachment. Upon the motion, the court may give the plaintiff a reasonable opportunity to correct any defect. If, after the defendant has appeared in the action, the court determines that the attachment is unnecessary to the security of the plaintiff, it shall vacate the order of attachment. Such a motion shall not of itself constitute an appearance in the action.

(b) Burden of proof. Upon a motion to vacate or modify an order of attachment the plaintiff shall have the burden of establishing the grounds for the attachment, the need for continuing the levy and the probability that he will succeed on the merits.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/6223

In plain English

Before attached property or debt is applied to a judgment, the defendant, garnishee or another interested person may seek to change or end the attachment.

(a) The movant must notify every party and the sheriff. The court may let the plaintiff cure a defect, but after the defendant appears it must vacate an attachment that is unnecessary to secure the plaintiff. The motion alone is not an appearance.
(b) The plaintiff bears the burden of proving the attachment ground, the continuing need for the levy and probable success on the merits. ★

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Clerk in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Clerk: Civil Practice Law and Rules; Volume 1 — Your Career: Civil Practice in Plain English.