O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 18-4-1 (2019)

Definitions

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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As used in this chapter, the term: (1) “Disposable earnings” means that part of the earnings of an individual remaining after the deduction for federal income tax, state income tax, withholdings for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), and other mandatory deductions required by law. (2) “Earnings” means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, fee, bonus, tips, overtime, or severance pay, including recurring periodic payments from pensions or retirement plans, including, but not limited to, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Railroad Retirement Board, Keoghs, and individual retirement accounts. (3) “Entity” means a public corporation or a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, professional corporation, firm, or other business organization other than a natural person. (4) “Financial institution” means 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 companies, safe-deposit companies, trust companies, any money market mutual fund, or other organization held out to the public as a place of deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective investment.

(5) “Garnishee answer” or “garnishee’s answer” means the response filed by a garnishee responding to a summons of garnishment detailing the money or other property of the defendant that is in the possession of the garnishee or declaring that the garnishee holds no such money or other property of the defendant. (6) “Public corporation” means any department, agency, branch of government, or political subdivision, as such term is defined in Code Section 50-15-1, or any public board, bureau, commission, or authority created by the General Assembly. (7) “Statutory overnight delivery” shall have the same meaning as defined in Code Section 9-10-12.

History

Code 1981, § 18-4-1, enacted by Ga. L. 2016, p. 8, § 1/SB 255; Ga. L. 2020, p. 691, § 1/SB 443. The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, added paragraph (7). U.S. Code. The federal Insurance Contributions

Act, referred to in this Code section, is codified at 26 U.S.C. § 3101 et seq.

Annotations

Law reviews. For article with annual survey on labor and employment law, see 73 Mercer L. Rev. 137 (2021).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Financial institution did not include insurance company garnished as employer. - Insurance company was not a “financial institution” under the financial institution garnishment scheme, O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-1(4) and 18-4-4(c)(2), when the insurance company was gar-

nished based on earnings that the company owed the debtor as the debtor’s former employer; rather, the statutes envisioned places of deposit for a debtor’s funds or investments. Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 303 Ga. 63, 810 S.E.2d 129, 2018 Ga. LEXIS 72 (2018).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1984–2024 · leading case: Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 810 S.E.2d 129 (Ga. 2018).
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Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 810 S.E.2d 129 (Ga. 2018). · cites it 20× “Under OCGA § 18-4-1 et seq. (the "new garnishment statute," Ga.”
Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 303 Ga. 63 (Ga. 2018). · cites it 15× “Under OCGA § 18-4-1 et seq. (the “new garnishment statute,” Ga.”
Marks v. Soles Et Al., 793 S.E.2d 587 (Ga. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Anew statutory scheme concerning garnishments, OCGA § 18-4-1 et seq., *388 became effective on May 12,2016.”
Horizon Credit Corp. v. Lanier Bank & Trust Co., 469 S.E.2d 452 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 4× “required or permitted by this chapter shall be amendable at any time before judgment thereon.”
St. Paul Reinsurance Co., Ltd. v. Ross, 622 S.E.2d 374 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “at 52 (affidavit of garnishment filed by judgment creditor explicitly stated that garnishee was indebted to creditor for judgment amount plus accrued interest).”
C-Staff, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., 571 S.E.2d 383 (Ga. 2002). · cites it 2× “(attachment and levy); OCGA § 18-4-1 et seq. (garnishment). 3 203 F.”
Tbf Fin., LLC v. Houston, 680 S.E.2d 662 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “OCGA § 18-4-1.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.”
A. M. Buckler & Assocs., Inc. v. Sanders, 700 S.E.2d 701 (Ga. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “, assented to the modification of a contract between the garnishee and C.”
Lewis v. Capital Bank, 717 S.E.2d 481 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “See OCGA § 18-4-1. Capital Bank contends that OCGA § 18-4-115 (b) otherwise makes provision for setting aside a default judgment in a continuing garnishment case and that OCGA § 9-11-60, therefore, never can be applied with respect to such a judgment.”
Pickens v. Collection Servs. of Athens, Inc., 165 F. Supp. 2d 1376 (M.D. Ga. 2001). · cites it 2× “See O.C.G.A. § 18-4-1 et. seq. (1999). The Court notes that under Georgia garnishment law, “a garnishment proceeding is an action between the plaintiff [judgment creditor] and the garnishee.”
Carrier411 Servs., Inc. v. Insight Tech., Inc., 744 S.E.2d 356 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “However, Georgia’s garnishment statutes, OCGA § 18-4-1 et seq., are in derogation of the common law and, thus, must be strictly construed.”
Rbc Global Asset Mgmt. (u.s.) Inc. v. Lattimore, 907 S.E.2d 696 (Ga. 2024). · cites it 22× “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 2 The court also…”
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