Definition
In Scots law, a creditor who proceeds against a debtor's property or funds held by a third party through the process of arrestment. The abrrester is the party initiating arrestment — the creditor who causes funds or movable property belonging to the debtor, but in the hands of a third party (the arrestee), to be frozen and held pending satisfaction of the debt.
Why It Matters in Research
This term appears almost exclusively in historical Scots law sources and will surface rarely outside of Scottish legal materials or comparative common law scholarship. Researchers consulting early equity or property treatises that draw on Scottish doctrine should be alert to arrestment terminology, which operates differently from English attachment or garnishment despite functional similarities. The term itself is a variant spelling — researchers may also encounter "arrester" in the same sources. Because Black's 2nd Edition sources the term to Kames's Principles of Equity, the surrounding context in that treatise is the most productive avenue for understanding the procedural mechanics. Do not conflate this entry with modern usage of "arrester" in other legal or technical senses.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Edition) defines the abrrester as a creditor of the debtor proceeding by the process of arrestment, citing Kames, Equity, vol. 2 at pages 173 and 175. This is a narrow, procedurally specific definition rooted in Scottish equity practice. The source — Lord Kames's Principles of Equity — is an 18th-century Scots treatise, and the definition reflects that era's procedural vocabulary. No meaningful divergence exists across historical dictionary sources because the term is sufficiently obscure that it does not appear to have generated competing definitions. The citation to Kames is the anchor; researchers should treat Black's entry as a pointer to that primary source rather than a self-contained explanation.
Jurisdictional Note
This term is specific to Scots law. It has no direct counterpart as a term of art in English, American, or other common law jurisdictions, though the underlying concept — a creditor using a third-party hold procedure to secure a debt — has functional analogues in garnishment and attachment.