Definition
Levari facias (Latin: "you cause to be levied") is a writ of execution issued after a judgment, directing an officer—typically the sheriff—to levy upon and collect from the lands and chattels of the judgment debtor a sum sufficient to satisfy the judgment. In its primary form, the writ authorizes seizure of the debtor's real and personal property to raise the amount owed. In a secondary ecclesiastical application, the writ runs not to the sheriff but to the bishop of the diocese, commanding him to enter and sequester the benefice (a church living) held by the judgment debtor and to hold it until the judgment debt is satisfied from its revenues.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A writ of execution at common law.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): A writ of execution at common law.
Both common-reference sources treat the phrase as essentially a technical legal term with no independent common meaning, and the bare description—"a writ of execution"—omits everything a researcher needs. The legal definition adds the critical operational detail: who is commanded to act, what property is reached, and the distinct ecclesiastical variant targeting church benefices. Researchers should treat the Wiktionary and Webster's entries as placeholders, not working definitions.
Common Confusion
Levari facias is sometimes confused with two related writs. Fieri facias (fi. fa.) also commands the sheriff to levy on goods and chattels to satisfy a judgment, but fieri facias reaches personal property generally and was the far more commonly issued writ in practice. Elegit, by contrast, allowed the judgment creditor to take possession of the debtor's lands directly until the debt was satisfied from rents and profits—a remedy courts found more effectual than levari facias for reaching real property, which is why levari facias fell into disuse in English practice. The ecclesiastical form of levari facias is unique and has no counterpart in fieri facias or elegit.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
1. Levari facias against lands and chattels: The standard form, directed to the sheriff, commanding levy on the debtor's real and personal property to raise the judgment sum.
2. Levari facias to the bishop: The ecclesiastical variant, directed to the bishop of the diocese rather than the sheriff, commanding sequestration of a judgment debtor's church benefice and retention of its revenues until the judgment debt is satisfied.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering levari facias in historical records should be alert to several points. First, this writ is predominantly English and largely obsolete in English practice by the mid-nineteenth century, having been displaced by elegit as the preferred remedy against real property. Finding it in later English sources is a signal the document may be archaic or the practitioner unusually conservative. Second, Pennsylvania is the significant American exception: in Pennsylvania, levari facias survived and was the proper writ for selling mortgaged premises under a judgment on a mortgage, giving it a specific and active meaning in Pennsylvania practice that it did not have elsewhere. Burrill's entry flags this directly, and researchers using Pennsylvania records should understand the writ in that mortgage-execution context rather than the general English one. Third, the ecclesiastical variant appears almost exclusively in contexts involving clergy holding benefices—a category of debtor whose property was otherwise difficult to reach by ordinary sheriff's process. Finding a levari facias to the bishop in historical records is a strong signal the debtor held a church living. Fourth, researchers should note that Burrill cites Blackstone's Commentaries and Tidd's Practice alongside the Register of Original Writs, which reflects the writ's grounding in classic common law procedure; these are reliable period sources for understanding its operation. Fifth, the writ's Latin name will appear in varied abbreviated or anglicized forms in older court records and dockets—"lev. fa." is a common abbreviation.
Historical Dictionary Support
The sources align on the core definition without meaningful disagreement. Black's First and Second Editions give essentially identical treatments, with Black's Second Edition adding a Pennsylvania citation (Pentland v. Kelly) that directly supports the Pennsylvania mortgage-execution usage. Burrill's entry is the richest, citing Tidd's Practice, Blackstone's Commentaries, and the Register of Original Writs, and explicitly noting that the writ was "now little used" in English practice because elegit was "much more effectual." Burrill also flags the Pennsylvania exception. All sources identify both the standard sheriff-directed form and the ecclesiastical bishop-directed form. No source provides significant depth on the ecclesiastical variant's procedure beyond the command to enter and sequester. Researchers seeking fuller procedural treatment should consult Tidd's Practice and Blackstone's Commentaries Book III directly, as the dictionary entries summarize rather than develop the writ's mechanics.
Jurisdictional Note
In England, levari facias was largely superseded by elegit and fell out of regular use. In Pennsylvania, it retained practical life as the writ used to execute judgment on a mortgage by compelling sale of the mortgaged premises, a usage that has no clear parallel in English practice or in most other American jurisdictions.