Rule Text
These rules govern the procedure in sheriff’s interpleader when tangible personal property levied upon pursuant to a writ of execution is claimed to be the property of a person other than the defendant in the execution.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 3201 adopted August 30, 1965, effective March 1, 1966; amended April 8, 1997, effective July 1, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 2045; amended April 12, 1999, effective July 1, 1999, 29 Pa.B. 2281. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (243938).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a sheriff seizes someone's personal property as part of a debt collection case, the seized items might actually belong to someone other than the person who owes the debt. These rules explain what happens when a third person steps forward and says, "That property is mine, not the defendant's."
This process is called a sheriff's interpleader. It gives the third person a way to make their ownership claim official through the court, so the sheriff does not end up selling property that may not belong to the debtor.