Due Process and Prejudgment Creditors' Remedies: <i>Sniadach</i> and <i>Fuentes</i> Revisited: <i>Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co.</i>, 416 U.S. 600 (1974)

Two Supreme Court decisions, Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp. in 1969, and Fuentes v. Shevin in 1972, appeared to herald a modern revolution in pre-judgment creditors' remedies. Their message: unless preceded by notice and an opportunity to be heard, such remedies violated the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. For many observers, however, it appeared the revolution ended with the Court's decision in Mitchell v. W.T. Grant Co. It remains to be seen what Mitchell's effect will be in the area of pre-judgment remedies. While the decision does not purport to abandon the philosophy of Sniadach or Fuentes, it does indicate that the decision to grant summary seizures must be made on a case-by-case basis.