Committee debates H.21 change to who may serve writs of possession

The Judiciary Committee on Monday reviewed a proposed amendment to H.21, a bill that would change how writs of possession are served in eviction and other possessory actions, focusing on whether sheriffs from other counties may serve and, in practice, enforce those writs.

Eric Fitzpatrick, staff attorney with Legislative Council, told the committee the writ of possession "directs the sheriff to go to the party who's in unlawful possession and say, vacate the premises, turn it over to the person who should have lawful possession of the property." He explained the bill's goal: to permit another county's sheriff to serve the writ when logistics or workload make the local sheriff unable to do so.

"The first crack at it in H.21 as introduced was to modify the writ," Fitzpatrick said, describing the introduced version that would directly authorize any other county sheriff to serve. The amendment under review instead proposes that "the sheriff of the county where the property is located . . . designate a sheriff in another county to serve the writ if the sheriff in the other county consents," with a requirement that the designating sheriff file a copy of the designation with the court so the court is notified.

Chief…