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State Laws
Georgia Debtor and Creditor
A release of summons of garnishment shall relieve the garnishee from any obligation to file an answer to any summons of garnishment pending on the date of the release and shall authorize the garnishee to deliver to the defendant in garnishment any money or other property in the garnishee's possession belonging to the defendant. A release shall not operate as a dismissal of the garnishment proceedings.
When the defendant files his traverse, the garnishee is not relieved of filing an answer, nor is the garnishee relieved of delivering the money or other property of the defendant which is subject to the garnishment to the court, unless the defendant files in the clerk's office of the court where the garnishment is pending a bond with good security, in favor of the plaintiff, conditioned for the payment of any judgment that may be entered in the proceeding. The bond shall be subject to approval by the clerk of the court; and, upon receipt of a bond deemed acceptable by the clerk, it shall be his duty to issue a release of any summons of garnishment pending in the garnishment proceeding. If the plaintiff shall prevail in the proceeding, he shall be entitled to entry of judgment upon such bond against the principal and securities therein, as judgment may be entered against securities upon appeal. Where the defendant files a bond, no further garnishment process may be filed in any court by the plaintiff against the defendant until the issues raised by the defendant's pleadings are decided.
Within the time prescribed by Code Section 18-4-62, the garnishee shall file his answer describing what money or other property is subject to garnishment under Code Section 18-4-20. If the garnishee owes the defendant any sum for wages, the answer shall also state specifically when the wages were earned by defendant and whether they were earned as daily, weekly, or monthly wages. If the garnishee has been served with summons in more than one garnishment case involving the same defendant, the garnishee shall state in each answer that the money or other property is being delivered to the court subject to the claims of all the cases and shall give the numbers of all such cases in each answer. If the garnishee shall be unable to answer as provided for in this Code section, his inability shall appear in his answer, together with all the facts plainly, fully, and distinctly set forth, so as to enable the court to give judgment thereon.
All answers by the garnishee shall, concurrently with filing, be served upon the plaintiff or his attorney. Service may be shown by the written acknowledgment of the plaintiff or his attorney, or by the certificate of the garnishee or his attorney, attached to the garnishee's answer, that a copy of the answer was mailed to the plaintiff or his attorney; provided, however, no service shall be required unless the name and address of the plaintiff or his attorney shall appear on the face of the summons of garnishment; provided, further, that, if the garnishee fails to serve the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall be allowed 15 days from the time the plaintiff receives actual notice of the answer to traverse the same.
Along with the answer, the garnishee shall deliver to the court the money or other property admitted in the answer to be subject to garnishment. If in answering the summons of garnishment, as provided in Code Section 18-4-82, the garnishee shall state that the property of the defendant includes property in a safe-deposit box or similar property, the garnishee shall answer to the court issuing the summons of garnishment as to the existence of such safe-deposit box and shall hold any contents of such safe-deposit box until the earlier of:
(1) Further order of said court either releasing the garnishment or specifically requiring the garnishee to open such safe-deposit box and deliver any contents thereof to said court upon conditions prescribed by said court; or
(2) The elapsing of 120 days from the date of filing of the answer to the summons of garnishment unless such time has been extended by the court.
If the garnishee serves his answer on the plaintiff as provided for in Code Section 18-4-83, the plaintiff or claimant must traverse the answer within 15 days after it is served or the garnishee is automatically discharged from further liability with respect to the summons so answered.
The traverse of the garnishee's answer shall be a statement by the plaintiff or his attorney, or by a claimant or his attorney, that the garnishee's answer is untrue or legally insufficient. Such statement places in issue all questions of law and fact concerning the garnishee's answer.
A traverse shall be served in the same manner as is provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 9-11-5 for the service of subsequent pleadings.
After the garnishee's answer is filed, the defendant's traverse shall be tried first, the plaintiff's traverse shall be tried second, and claims shall be tried last; provided, however, the court shall retain the money or other property subject to garnishment until trial of all claims which are filed under this chapter.
If no traverse or claim has been filed within 15 days after the garnishee's answer is filed:
(1) If money is delivered to the court by the garnishee, the clerk shall pay the money to the plaintiff or his attorney on his application;
(2) If other property is delivered to the court by the garnishee, the sheriff, marshal, constable, or like officer of the court shall sell the property in the manner provided by law for the sale of property levied under an execution; and the proceeds of the sale shall be delivered to the plaintiff or his attorney on his application; or
(3) If money or other property admitted to be subject to the garnishment is not delivered to the court, judgment shall be entered for the plaintiff and against the garnishee for the money or other property and execution shall issue on the judgment.
In case the garnishee fails or refuses to file an answer by the forty-fifth day after service of the summons, the garnishee shall automatically be in default. The default may be opened as a matter of right by the filing of an answer within 15 days of the day of default and payment of costs. If the case is still in default after the expiration of the period of 15 days, judgment by default may be entered at any time thereafter against the garnishee for the amount claimed to be due on the judgment obtained against the defendant.
When a judgment is rendered against a garnishee under Code Section 18-4-90, on a motion filed not later than 60 days from the date the garnishee receives actual notice of the entry of the judgment against him, he may, upon payment of all accrued costs of court, have the judgment modified so that the amount of the judgment shall be reduced to an amount equal to the greater of $50.00 or $50.00 plus 100 percent of the amount by which the garnishee was indebted to the defendant from the time of service of the summons of garnishment through and including the last day on which a timely answer could have been made for all money, other property, or effects belonging to the defendant which came into the garnishee's hands from the time of service of the summons through and including the last day on which a timely answer could have been made and, in the case of garnishment of wages, less any exemption allowed the defendant by law. Notice to the garnishee by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery shall be sufficient notice as required in this Code section. On the trial of the motion, the burden of proof shall be upon any plaintiff who objects to the timeliness of the motion to establish that the motion was not filed within the time provided for by this Code section.
On the trial of the plaintiff's traverse, if the court finds the garnishee has failed to answer properly the summons of garnishment, the court shall disallow any expenses claimed by the garnishee and enter a judgment for any money or other property delivered to the court with the garnishee's answer, plus any money or other property the court finds subject to garnishment which the garnishee has failed to deliver to the court; provided, however, that the total amount of such judgment shall in no event exceed the amount claimed due by the plaintiff, together with the costs of the garnishment proceeding.
(a) A garnishee may be relieved from liability for failure to answer properly the summons of garnishment if the plaintiff failed to provide the information required by subsection (i) of Code Section 18-4-20 that would reasonably enable the garnishee to answer properly the summons of garnishment and a good faith effort to locate the requested property was made by the garnishee based on the information provided by the plaintiff. In determining whether a garnishee may be relieved of liability imposed by Code Section 18-4-92, the court shall consider and compare the accuracy and quantity of the information supplied by the plaintiff pursuant to subsection (i) of Code Section 18-4-20 with the manner in which the garnishee maintains and locates its records, the compliance by the garnishee with its own procedures, and the conformity of the record systems and procedures with reasonable commercial standards prevailing in the area in which the garnishee is located.
(b) A garnishee and a plaintiff shall not be subject to liability to any party or nonparty to the garnishment at issue arising from the attachment of a lien, the freezing, payment, or delivery into court of property, money, or effects reasonably believed to be that of the defendant if such attachment, freezing, payment, or delivery is reasonably required by a good faith effort to comply with the summons of garnishment. In determining whether such compliance by a garnishee is reasonable, the court shall proceed in the manner prescribed in subsection (a) of this Code section by comparing the efforts of the plaintiff to comply with subsection (i) of Code Section 18-4-20 and the garnishee's record system and procedures.
(c)(1) As used in this subsection, the term:
(A) "Association account" means any account, or any safe-deposit box or similar property, maintained by a corporation, statutory close corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, foundation, trust, a national, state, or local government or quasi-government entity, or any other incorporated or unincorporated association.
(B) "Fiduciary account" means any account, or any safe-deposit box, maintained by any party in a fiduciary capacity for any other party other than the defendant in garnishment. Without limiting the foregoing, for purposes of this subsection, the term fiduciary account shall include any "trust account" as defined in Code Section 7-1-810, any account created pursuant to a transfer governed by Code Section 44-5-119, and any agency account or safe-deposit box governed by a power of attorney or other written designation of authority.
(2)(A) A garnishee shall not be liable for failure to deliver to the court property, money, or effects in an association account that may be subject to garnishment by reason of the fact that a defendant is an authorized signer on such association account, unless the summons of garnishment alleges that the association account is being used by the defendant for an improper or unlawful purpose.
(B) A garnishee shall not be liable for failure to deliver to the court property, money, or effects in a fiduciary account that may be subject to garnishment if such account specifically is exempted from garnishment by the laws of this state.
(C) A garnishee shall not be liable for failure to deliver to the court property, money, or effects in a fiduciary account that may be subject to garnishment by reason of the fact that a defendant is a fiduciary of the fiduciary account, unless the summons of garnishment is against the defendant in the defendant's capacity as a fiduciary of the fiduciary account or the summons of garnishment alleges that the fiduciary account is being used by the defendant for an improper or unlawful purpose.
A garnishment proceeding is an action between the plaintiff and the garnishee; but, at any time before a judgment is entered on the garnishee's answer or before money or other property subject to garnishment is distributed, the defendant may become a party to the garnishment for the purposes set out in Code Section 18-4-65 by filing a traverse to the plaintiff's affidavit stating that the affidavit is untrue or legally insufficient; and he shall be a party to all proceedings thereafter. Upon the filing of the defendant's traverse, and at the defendant's application therefor, a judge of the court in which the case is pending shall order a hearing to be held not more than ten days from the date the traverse is filed. The hearing shall be available to the defendant as a matter of right after filing his traverse; and no further summons of garnishment may issue nor may any money or other property delivered to the court as subject to garnishment be disbursed until the hearing shall be held.
(a) Where the defendant prevails upon the trial of the issues made by his traverse, the garnishment case shall be dismissed by the court; and any money or other property belonging to the defendant in the possession of the court shall be restored to the defendant unless a claim thereto has been filed.
(b) If a claim has been filed, all parties of record may introduce evidence to establish their respective interests in the money or other property in court; and the court shall direct that the money or other property be distributed in accordance with the laws governing priority of claims.
At any time before judgment is entered on the garnishee's answer or money or other property subject to garnishment is distributed, any person may file a claim in writing under oath stating that he has a claim superior to that of the plaintiff to the money or other property in the hands of the garnishee subject to the process of garnishment; and the claimant shall be a party to all further proceedings upon the garnishment.
Where money or other property in court is subject to the claims of more than one garnishment case, any interested party to any one of the garnishment cases may make a motion to the court in his case for the distribution of the money or other property. Each party of interest in each case and the clerk of the court shall be served with a copy of the motion. Upon hearing the motion, the court shall enter an order directing that the clerk be paid the court cost of each garnishment proceeding first, and all remaining money or other property shall be distributed in accordance with the law governing the relative priorities of claims, judgments, and liens.
(a) The garnishee shall be entitled to his actual reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, in making a true answer of garnishment. The amount so incurred shall be taxed in the bill of costs and shall be paid by the party upon whom the cost is cast, as costs are cast in other cases. The garnishee may deduct $25.00 or 10 percent of the amount paid into court, whichever is greater, not to exceed $50.00, as reasonable attorney's fees or expenses.
(b) If the garnishee can show that his actual attorney's fees or expenses exceed the amount provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section, he must petition the court for a hearing at the time of making his answer without deducting from the amount paid into court. Upon hearing from the parties, the court may enter an order for payment of actual attorney's fees or expenses proven by the garnishee to have been incurred reasonably in making his answer.
(c) In the event the garnishee makes the deduction permitted in subsection (a) of this Code section but the costs are later cast upon the garnishee, the garnishee shall forthwith refund to the defendant the funds deducted; and, if the costs are later cast against the plaintiff, the court shall enter judgment in favor of the defendant and against the plaintiff for the amount of the deductions made by the garnishee.
(d) Nothing in this Code section shall limit the reimbursement of costs incurred by a financial institution as provided by Code Section 7-1-237.
GA Georgia Official State Statutes
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