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2018 Georgia Code 18-4-19 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 18-4-19 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 18-4-19

TITLE 18 DEBTOR AND CREDITOR

Section 4. Garnishment Proceedings, 18-4-1 through 18-4-89.

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

18-4-19. Order of trial; introduction of evidence; expenses.

  1. After the garnishee's answer is filed, the defendant's claim shall be tried first, the plaintiff's traverse shall be tried second, and third-party claims shall be tried last; provided, however, that the court shall retain the money or other property subject to garnishment until the completion of the trial of all claims and traverses which are filed under this chapter. The court may consolidate or bifurcate such actions for trial in the court's discretion.
  2. If a claim or traverse 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 such money or other property be distributed in accordance with the laws governing the relative priority of claims, judgments, and liens.
  3. When the defendant, garnishee, or third-party claimant prevails upon the trial of his or her claim:
    1. That the plaintiff does not have a judgment against the defendant or that the plaintiff's affidavit of garnishment is untrue or is legally insufficient, 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 another claim or traverse thereto has been filed;
    2. That the amount shown to be due on the plaintiff's affidavit of garnishment is incorrect, the court may allow the summons of garnishment to be amended to the amount proven to be owed, and if such amount is less than the amount shown to be due by the plaintiff, any money or other property belonging to the defendant in the possession of the court in excess of the amount due shall be restored to the defendant unless another claim or traverse thereto has been filed;
    3. That the money or other property belonging to the defendant in the possession of the court is exempt from garnishment, such exempt money or other property shall be restored directly to the defendant. The court shall order such restoration within 48 hours; and
    4. Based on any legal or statutory defense or that money or other property in the possession of the court may be subject to a claim held by a third party that is superior to the judgment described in the affidavit of garnishment, the court shall determine the disposition of the money or other property belonging to the defendant in the possession of the court.
  4. On the trial of the plaintiff's traverse, if the court finds the garnishee has failed to respond properly to the summons of garnishment, the court shall disallow any expenses demanded by the garnishee and shall enter a judgment for any money or other property the court finds subject to garnishment which the garnishee has failed to pay or deliver to the court; provided, however, that the total amount of such judgment shall not exceed the amount shown to be due by the plaintiff, together with the costs of the garnishment proceeding.
  5. A defendant shall not be allowed to present evidence, make an argument, or prevail on a claim that money or other property in a garnishment may be subject to a claim by a third party. When a claim of exemption or defense to a garnishment proceeding belongs to a defendant, a third-party claimant shall not be allowed to present evidence, make an argument, or prevail on any such claim.

(Code 1981, §18-4-19, enacted by Ga. L. 2016, p. 8, § 1/SB 255; Ga. L. 2018, p. 820, § 6/SB 194.)

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, inserted ", garnishee, or third-party claimant" in the introductory paragraph of subsection (c); deleted "paid or delivered to the court with the garnishee's answer, plus any money or other property" following "money or other property" in the middle of subsection (d); and added subsection (e).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, certain decisions under former Civil Code 1910, § 5283; former Code 1933, § 46-102 as it read prior to revision by Ga. L. 1976, p. 1608, § 1; former Code 1933, §§ 46-511 and 46-514 as they read after passage of Ga. L. 1976, p. 1608, § 1; and former O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-88,18-4-92, and18-4-94 are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Attorney's fees for defense of garnishment.

- Reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the defendant in a garnishment proceeding in defense to the garnishment constitute damages sustained by the defendant in consequence of suing out a garnishment and are recoverable as such in suit on bond. Cohen v. Nichols, 54 Ga. App. 394, 188 S.E. 48 (1936) (decided under former Code 1933, § 46-102).

Proof required of defendant to sustain traverse that defendant is not indebted in amount alleged.

- See Thacker Constr. Co. v. Williams, 154 Ga. App. 670, 269 S.E.2d 519 (1980) (decided under former Code 1933, § 46-511).

Trial of issue created by traverse should be postponed until after judgment against defendant. Whaley v. Kear, 139 Ga. 16, 76 S.E. 390 (1912) (decided under former Civil Code 1910, § 5283).

Trial of defendant's traverse or evidentiary hearing required.

- In a postjudgment garnishment proceeding, the judgment debtor's traverse asserting that the judgment was void or voidable was clearly an impermissible challenge to the validity of the judgment. The trial court was not authorized to consider the debtor's verified complaint for damages which addressed issues in bar of judgment in support of the debtor's traverse, and the trial court improperly dismissed the proceeding by granting summary judgment on the debtor's verified complaint without holding an evidentiary hearing on the debtor's traverse. Southern Land & Cattle Co. v. Brock, 213 Ga. App. 3, 443 S.E.2d 647 (1994) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-88).

Verdict for plaintiff for amount named in traverse is construed as a finding in favor of traverse. Whaley v. Kear, 139 Ga. 16, 76 S.E. 390 (1912) (decided under former Civil Code 1910, § 5283).

General litigation expenses statute, O.C.G.A. § 13-6-11, does not apply in garnishment proceedings. Worsham Bros. Co. v. FDIC, 167 Ga. App. 163, 305 S.E.2d 816 (1983) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-92).

Attorney fees are not included in "costs." Worsham Bros. Co. v. FDIC, 167 Ga. App. 163, 305 S.E.2d 816 (1983) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-92).

Attorney fees must be included in the amount claimed or those fees will be stricken. Worsham Bros. Co. v. FDIC, 167 Ga. App. 163, 305 S.E.2d 816 (1983) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-92).

Trial court must specifically find that the garnishee had money owing to or belonging to the judgment debtor; the garnishee's refusal to produce records to rebut allegations that the debtor was the garnishee's employee did not satisfy the creditor's burden of showing that the garnishee had money of the debtor. W.R. Leasing, Inc. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur., 211 Ga. App. 818, 440 S.E.2d 714 (1994) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-92).

Excessive award.

- Trial court's order in garnishment proceeding was defective since the order failed to indicate what monies were due the judgment debtor from the garnishees and, therefore, failed to find what money was subject to garnishment, and when, due to an award of interest, the total amount of judgment exceeded amount claimed due by the plaintiff. Stone v. George F. Richardson, Inc., 163 Ga. App. 86, 293 S.E.2d 746 (1982) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-92).

Disposition of funds paid into court when plaintiff loses in determination on merits of traverse

- See Paris v. State, 25 Ga. App. 707, 104 S.E. 510 (1920) (decided under former Code 1933, § 46-514).

Property interest.

- Because the debtor had a property interest in the debtor's claim against the debtor's employer, it followed that the debtor had a property interest in garnished funds. O.C.G.A. § 18-4-94(a) reflected this conclusion. Bowen v. Thompson (In re Thompson), Bankr. (Bankr. N.D. Ga. Apr. 29, 2013) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 18-4-94).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 6 Am. Jur. 2d, Attachment and Garnishment, §§ 379, 380.

C.J.S.

- 38 C.J.S., Garnishment, § 313 et seq.

ALR.

- Constitutionality, construction, and application of statutory provisions for recovery of damages by defendant in attachment or garnishment, 125 A.L.R. 1219.

No results found for Georgia Code 18-4-19.