Short answer. On a verified application, in several situations: when the applicant's property or fund is in danger of being lost or injured, in certain mortgage foreclosure cases, after judgment to preserve property or aid execution, or whenever receivership is simply the most convenient way to preserve property in litigation.
What the law says
Upon a verified application, one or more receivers of the property subject of the action or proceeding may be appointed by the court where the action is pending, or by the Court of Appeals or by the Supreme Court, or a member thereof, in the following cases: (a) When it appears from the verified application, and such other proof as the court may require, that the party applying for the appointment of a receiver has an interest in the property or fund which is the subject of the action or proceeding, and that such property or fund is in danger of being lost, removed, or materially injured unless a receiver be appointed to administer and preserve it
Rule 59, Section 1 — Appointment of receiver. Read the full provision →
Property genuinely at risk while the applicant has a real stake
The first ground requires two things together: the applicant must have an interest in the property or fund which is the subject of the action, and that property must be in danger of being lost, removed, or materially injured unless a receiver steps in. A party with no real interest in the property, or property that is not genuinely at risk, does not fit this particular ground for appointment, however urgently the applicant may feel about the underlying dispute.
A mortgage foreclosure where the security may not cover the debt
In a foreclosure action, a receiver may be appointed where the mortgaged property is in danger of being wasted or dissipated or materially injured and its value is probably insufficient to discharge the mortgage debt, or where the mortgage contract itself stipulates for a receiver. This protects the mortgagee's security from deteriorating in value while the foreclosure case remains pending before the court.
After judgment, to preserve property or help enforce it
A receiver can also be appointed after judgment, to preserve property during an appeal, dispose of it according to the judgment, or aid execution where execution has been returned unsatisfied or the judgment obligor refuses to apply their property to satisfy the judgment — essentially any situation where a receiver would help carry the judgment into effect against a reluctant, uncooperative obligor.
A catch-all where receivership is simply the most practical option
Beyond these specific situations, the rule allows appointment whenever in other cases it appears that the appointment of a receiver is the most convenient and feasible means of preserving, administering, or disposing of the property in litigation. This gives the court flexibility beyond the enumerated grounds where receivership is genuinely the most practical way to protect property caught up in an ongoing case, so long as the facts genuinely support it.