Section 21

If at any subsequent stage of an action in which an order for arrest or attachment of property has been made under this Act it appears to the court that such arrest or attachment was applied for on insufficient grounds, or if the claimant’s claim is dismissed and it appears to the court that there was no sufficient ground for instituting the action, the court may, on the application of the defendant, award against the claimant such amount, not exceeding $500, as it thinks reasonable to compensate the defendant for any injury caused to him by the arrest or attachment.

An award under this section shall bar any action for damages, but nothing in this section shall preclude the defendant from maintaining an action for damages instead of applying for an award under subsection (1).