CopyCited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 5, 2018
...December 2015, Blach has regularly filed summonses of garnishment against
AFLAC, and AFLAC has deposited more than $140,000 into the court’s
registry.
Effective May 12, 2016, however, the legislature enacted a new chapter
governing garnishments in Georgia. Under OCGA §
18-4-1 et seq....
...But
the court found it prudent and consistent with comity principles to give this
Court an opportunity to determine what the garnishment statute means, saying
that an argument can be made that a “plain meaning interpretation cannot be
what the General Assembly intended.”
OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) defines “financial institution” as
3
The district court ruled that payments made by AFLAC into the court
registry were properly paid “according to traditional garnishment proceedings.”
See AFLAC, supra, 2012 U....
...a fund or account. He asserts that because AFLAC makes payments to Diaz-
Verson that are akin to wages, it is not a “financial institution” for purposes of
the garnishment statute. On the other hand, Diaz-Verson argues that the plain
language of OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) dictates that an insurance company is a
financial institution and that there is no language that limits the institutions
listed to “a commercial or savings bank” as Blach suggests....
...After all, context is a primary determinant
of meaning. (Citation and punctuation omitted.)”).
Prior to the 2016 amendment to the statutes governing garnishment
proceedings, the Code provided only for a general garnishment, see former
OCGA §§
18-4-1 through 18-4-97, a continuing garnishment, see former OCGA
5
§§
18-4-110 through
18-4-118, and a continuing garnishment for support, see
former OCGA §§
18-4-130 through
18-4-135....
...But “or” is also used as a
reiterative term, Gearinger v. Lee,
266 Ga. 167, 169 (2) (465 SE2d 440) (1996),
and here, in the context of the chapter as a whole, the natural and reasonable use
of this phrase at the end of subsection (4) of OCGA §
18-4-1 is to describe
generally all the entities listed earlier in the subsection....
...OCGA §
18-4-4 (c) (2), is an entity that is a place of deposit for a defendant’s
funds or medium for a defendant’s savings or investments, for example, those
listed in the subsection.
6
We arrive at this conclusion by viewing OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) in the context
of other provisions of the chapter....
...rity
the defendant’s account, identification, or tracking numbers known to the
plaintiff used by the garnishee in the identification or administration of the
defendant’s funds or property[.]” (Emphasis supplied.) And subsection (c) of
OCGA §
18-4-10 provides that “[i]f the defendant does not have an active
account with and is not the owner of any money or other property in the
possession of such financial institution, then the garnishee may immediately file
the garnishee’s answer[.]” (Emphasis supplied.) Similarly, OCGA §
18-4-13 (c)
(2) provides: “No service upon the defendant shall be required by a financial
institution garnishee if the defendant does not have an active account with and
is not the owner of any money or other property in the possession of suc...
...These forms further
demonstrate that “financial institution,” for purposes of garnishments on a
financial institution under OCGA §
18-4-4 (c) (2), is intended to include only
those entities that hold funds of the defendant in some type of account.
To follow Diaz-Verson’s interpretation of OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) that an
8
insurance company such as AFLAC is a “financial institution” regardless of the
capacity in which it is acting in relation to the defendant would also mean that
an insurance company, bank, and all other organizations enumerated in OCGA
§
18-4-1 (4) could never be the garnishee of a general garnishment, continuing
garnishment, or continuing garnishment for support as the employer or former
employer of the defendant. See OCGA §§
18-4-4 (c) (4),
18-4-40,
18-4-51, 18-
4-86. But the legislature has indicated in OCGA §
18-4-10 (c) that a financial
institution could also be the garnishee for a continuing garnishment or
continuing garnishment for support: “When the garnishee is a financial
institution and the garnishment is not a continuing garnishment or con...
...OR CONTINUING GARNISHMENT
FOR CHILD SUPPORT OR ALIMONY.”
9
§
18-4-71.
For the above-stated reasons, we hold that viewing the garnishment
statutory scheme as a whole, it is clear that “financial institution” in OCGA §
18-4-1 (4), for purposes of garnishments served on a financial institution subject
to the five-day garnishment period, is limited to entities that are “held out to the
public as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective
investment” and are garnished in that capacity....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 5, 2018
...s regularly *131filed summonses of garnishment against AFLAC, and AFLAC has deposited more than $140,000 into the court's registry.
Effective May 12, 2016, however, the legislature enacted a new chapter governing garnishments in Georgia. Under OCGA §
18-4-1 et seq....
...But the court found it prudent and consistent with comity principles to give this Court an opportunity to determine what the garnishment statute means, saying that an argument can be made that a "plain meaning interpretation cannot be what the General Assembly intended."
OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) defines "financial institution" as
every federal or state chartered commercial or savings bank, including savings and loan associations and cooperative banks, federal or state chartered credit unions, benefit associations, insurance co...
...a fund or account. He asserts that because AFLAC makes payments to Diaz-Verson that are akin to wages, it is not a "financial institution" for purposes of the garnishment statute. On the other hand, Diaz-Verson argues that the plain language of OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) dictates that an insurance company is a financial institution and that there is no language that limits the institutions listed to "a commercial or savings bank" as Blach suggests....
...well. After all, context is a primary determinant of meaning. (Citation and punctuation omitted.)").
Prior to the 2016 amendment to the statutes governing garnishment proceedings, the Code provided only for a general garnishment, see former OCGA §§
18-4-1 through 18-4-97, a continuing garnishment, see former OCGA §§
18-4-110 through
18-4-118, and a continuing garnishment for support, see former OCGA §§
18-4-130 through
18-4-135. The 2016 amendment created a new category of garnishments, those "served on a financial institution," with a garnishment period of five days. OCGA §
18-4-4 (c) (2). Although OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) lists "insurance companies" in its definition of a "financial institution," the last phrase of this subsection provides: "or other organization held out to the public as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective inv...
...tions. But "or" is also used as a reiterative term, Gearinger v. Lee,
266 Ga. 167, 169 (2),
465 S.E.2d 440 (1996), and here, in the context of the chapter as a whole, the natural and reasonable use of this phrase at the end of subsection (4) of OCGA §
18-4-1 is to describe generally all the entities listed earlier in the subsection....
...tution pursuant to OCGA §
18-4-4 (c) (2), is an entity that is a place of deposit for a defendant's funds or medium for a defendant's savings or investments, for example, those listed in the subsection.
We arrive at this conclusion by viewing OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) in the context of other provisions of the chapter....
...particularity the defendant's account, identification, or tracking numbers known to the plaintiff used by the garnishee in the identification or administration of the defendant's funds or property[.]" (Emphasis supplied.) And subsection (c) of OCGA §
18-4-10 provides that "[i]f the defendant does not have an active account with and is not the owner of any money or other property in the possession of such financial institution , then the garnishee may immediately file the garnishee's answer[.]" (Emphasis supplied.) Similarly, OCGA §
18-4-13 (c) (2) provides: "No service upon the defendant shall be required by a financial institution garnishee if the defendant does not have an active account with and is not the owner of any money or other property in the possession of such fin...
...These forms further demonstrate that "financial institution," for purposes of garnishments on a financial institution under OCGA §
18-4-4 (c) (2), is intended to include only those entities that hold funds of the defendant in some type of account.
To follow Diaz-Verson's interpretation of OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) that an insurance company such as AFLAC is a "financial institution" regardless of the capacity in which it is acting in relation to the defendant would also mean that an insurance company, bank, and all other organizations enumerated in OCGA §
18-4-1 (4) could never be the garnishee of a general garnishment, continuing garnishment, or continuing garnishment for support as the employer or former employer of the defendant. See OCGA §§
18-4-4 (c) (4),
18-4-40,
18-4-51,
18-4-86. But the legislature has indicated in OCGA §
18-4-10 (c) that a financial institution could also be the garnishee for a continuing garnishment or continuing garnishment for support: "When the garnishee is a financial institution and the garnishment is not a continuing garnishment or continui...
...The general affidavit garnishment form contains a box labeled in bold type "Check this box if the Garnishee is a financial institution." OCGA §
18-4-71.
For the above-stated reasons, we hold that viewing the garnishment statutory scheme as a whole, it is clear that "financial institution" in OCGA §
18-4-1 (4), for purposes of garnishments served on a financial institution subject to the five-day garnishment period, is limited to entities that are "held out to the public as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective investment" and are garnished in that capacity....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 15, 2024 | 320 Ga. 77
...is Court an
application for discretionary appeal from the state court’s order. We
granted the application and asked the parties to consider whether
the state court erred when it ruled: Global is a “financial institution”
as defined in OCGA §
18-4-1 (4), Lattimore used the correct
garnishment summons form to initiate the garnishment action
against Global, and Global could not challenge in its motion to set
aside whether Lattimore had obtained personal jurisdiction over it...
...Because the state court abused its
discretion in denying Global’s motion to set aside the garnishment
default judgment on this ground, we reverse the order appealed.
2. The state court erroneously concluded that Global is a
“financial institution” as defined in OCGA §
18-4-1 (4), and that
Lattimore therefore used the correct form of garnishment summons
when initiating this garnishment action....
...ed or registered” in
Georgia on March 3, 1997.
7
mutual fund, or other organization held out to the public
as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or
collective investment.
OCGA §
18-4-1 (4)....
...rs.” In fact, the Georgia
Uniform Securities Act of 2008 defines “investment adviser” to
specifically exclude a “bank or savings institution” as well as a
“credit union” — those two institutions that are first on the list in
OCGA §
18-4-1 (4)....
...actual custody of client funds.6
Additionally, as a registered investment advisor, Global does
not hold itself “out to the public as a place of deposit of funds or
medium of savings or collective investment” as required by the
garnishment chapter. OCGA §
18-4-1 (4).7 This final clause of the
statutory definition of “financial institution” is not read broadly as
a catch-all for any type of financial entity; rather, as this Court has
held, it is merely reiterative of the type of organizations specifically
listed in the statute....
...investment funds”).
9
(810 SE2d 129) (2018) (“Or” is used as a reiterative term, and “in the
context of the chapter as a whole, the natural and reasonable use of
this phrase at the end of subsection (4) of OCGA §
18-4-1 is to
describe generally all the entities listed earlier in the subsection.
That is, that a ‘financial institution,’ for purposes of a garnishment
on a financial institution pursuant to OCGA §
18-4-4 (c) (2), is an
entity that is a...
