Stemcor USA Incorporated v. Cia Siderurgica Do Para Cosipar

Summary

The court answered the certified question by holding that Louisiana's non-resident attachment statute permits attachment in aid of arbitration when the underlying arbitration claim seeks money damages and the statutory requirements for a writ are satisfied. Although a petition to compel arbitration does not itself request payment of money, it may be the necessary first step toward obtaining a money judgment, and excluding arbitral claims would conflict with the statute's broad language and purpose. The dissent would have applied the statute's text literally and denied attachment because a petition to compel arbitration is not itself an action for a money judgment.