12-158.Goods and chattels.

This section opens with a broad grant of enforcement authority: all goods and chattels, real and personal, may be taken and sold to satisfy a judgment, except as otherwise provided by law elsewhere in the statute.

Levying on livestock or other personal property creates a practical problem when the property isn't immediately replevied or returned to the debtor: someone has to feed and care for it. The officer must provide sufficient sustenance for livestock and proper care and storage for other property until it's replevied, sold, or discharged from the judgment. The officer receives reasonable compensation for that, set by the court that entered the judgment, advanced from time to time by the judgment creditor and later collected as part of the case costs.

Perishable goods raise a separate, faster problem. If the levying officer believes goods are perishable and in danger of immediate waste, the officer requests the judgment creditor to obtain a court order permitting a sale within 24 hours of the levy, on notice to the debtor and the public as the court requires. Proceeds are held by the officer until the rest of the property sells, then paid over with the balance. The request must be in writing, delivered to the creditor or the creditor's attorney or agent and to the debtor if found, or posted on the premises if the debtor can't be found; the creditor's motion is treated as an emergency motion. If the creditor doesn't seek that order, the officer is absolved of responsibility for loss from failing to sell or care for the perishable property.