Replevin – does this actually sound like Rumpelstiltskin? Not at all. And yet that is all I can think about when I hear it. A selfish gnome creature who steals babies. Not “an order to seize chattel in an action to recover the chattel.” Though maybe we can think of the stolen babies as chattel. And while we’re on words that sound funny: chattel?!? Like cattle, but chattel can be cattle OR pens OR my bike. Maybe like cattle + chair = chattel. Both are chattel. Too bad I didn’t need help memorizing that one!
Garnishee – this is a third person who holds a defendant’s property interest or owes a debt to the defenant. But in MY world a garnishee is a cross between a banshee and spring of parsley. Maybe I should just picture the garnishee being a banshee who is holding the defendant’s parsley till judgment is made??? But the classic garnishee is a bank. So maybe this banshee is chilling in Bank of America. Yessss. Done.
Impoundment – and all this time I though that when a car was “impounded” it was literally pounded in/crushed. Whoops. Turns out impoundment happens when a sheriff seizes your chattel and retains custody of it, in order to insure enforcement of a judgment awarding possession of your chattel to the plaintiff. The dictionary also says that you can “impound” an animal, by “shutting up” in a pound or shelter. Now I am really glad I know that impound does not mean crush flat. Poor stray kittens!
