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2018 Georgia Code 18-4-7 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 18-4-7 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 18-4-7

TITLE 18 DEBTOR AND CREDITOR

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

ARTICLE 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

18-4-7. Required information on summons of garnishment or attachment thereto; form usage; failure to use correct form.

  1. The amount shown on the summons of garnishment shall not exceed the amount the defendant owes the plaintiff pursuant to a judgment.
    1. A summons of garnishment, or an attachment thereto, shall state on its face with particularity all of the following information, to the extent reasonably available to the plaintiff:
      1. The name of the defendant and, to the extent such would reasonably enable the garnishee to properly respond to the summons of garnishment, all known configurations, nicknames, aliases, former or maiden names, trade names, or variations thereof;
      2. The service address and the current address of the defendant and, to the extent such would reasonably enable the garnishee to properly respond to the summons of garnishment and such is reasonably available to the plaintiff, the past addresses of the defendant; and
      3. The social security number or federal tax identification number of the defendant; provided, however, that if such summons is filed with a court, the court filing shall be redacted in accordance with Code Section 9-11-7.1 or 15-10-54, as applicable. The defendant's full social security number or federal tax identification number shall be made known to the garnishee and defendant in accordance with Code Section 9-11-7.1 or 15-10-54, as applicable, to the extent such information is reasonably available to the plaintiff.
    2. The form for a summons of garnishment on a financial institution shall not be used for a continuing garnishment or continuing garnishment for support. A summons of garnishment on a financial institution, or an attachment thereto, shall also state with 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; provided, however, that if such summons is filed with a court, the court filing shall be redacted in accordance with Code Section 9-11-7.1 or 15-10-54, as applicable. The defendant's account, identification, or tracking numbers shall be made known to the garnishee and defendant in accordance with Code Section 9-11-7.1 or 15-10-54, as applicable, to the extent such information is known to the plaintiff.
    3. A misspelling of any information required by this subsection, other than the surname of a natural person defendant, shall not invalidate a summons of garnishment, so long as such information is not misleading in a search of the garnishee's records.
  3. The form for a summons of garnishment is set forth in Code Section 18-4-74, and the optional attachment thereto is set forth in Code Section 18-4-75. The form for a summons of garnishment on a financial institution is set forth in Code Section 18-4-76, and the attachment thereto is set forth in Code Section 18-4-77. The form for a summons of garnishment on a financial institution shall not be used for a continuing garnishment or continuing garnishment for support.
  4. When a plaintiff uses the incorrect form for a summons of garnishment of any type, the garnishment shall not be valid and the garnishee shall be relieved of all liability.

(Code 1981, §18-4-7, enacted by Ga. L. 2016, p. 8, § 1/SB 255; Ga. L. 2018, p. 820, § 3/SB 194.)

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, substituted "The form for a" for "A" at the beginning of the first sentence of paragraph (b)(2).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Cited in Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 303 Ga. 63, 810 S.E.2d 129 (2018).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 38 C.J.S., Garnishment, §§ 173 et seq., 185 et seq.

ALR.

- Who may serve writ, summons, or notice of garnishment, 75 A.L.R.2d 1433.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 18-4-7

Total Results: 3  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 303 Ga. 63 (Ga. 2018).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 5, 2018

...8, § 1/SB 255), different forms are required for summonses of garnishment for general garnishments,2 which provide for a 29-day garnishment period, and for garnishments on a financial institution, which provide for a five-day garnishment period. See OCGA § 18-4- 4 (c) (2) and (4); see also OCGA §§ 18-4-71, 18-4-74 through 18-4-77. After the effective date of the new statute, Blach used the general garnishment forms found in OCGA §§ 18-4-71 and 18-4-74, and AFLAC garnished payments to 1 AFLAC made bi-monthly payments to Diaz-Verson pursuant to the settlement of a contested pension claim arising from an ERISA pension plan. See AFLAC, Inc....
...Diaz-Verson filed motions to dismiss all garnishments filed after May 12, 2016, arguing that because Blach used the general form instead of the form for financial institutions, a portion of the funds in the court’s registry must be released back to Diaz-Verson.3 See OCGA § 18-4-7 (d) (“When a plaintiff uses the incorrect form for a summons of garnishment of any type, the garnishment shall not be valid and the garnishee shall be relieved of all liability.”)....
...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. OCGA § 18-4-7 (b) (2) provides that a summons of garnishment on a financial institution shall “state with particularity the defendant’s account, identification, or tracking numbers known to the plaintiff used by the garnishee in the identification...
...neral garnishments under OCGA § 18-4-4 (c) (4) as later explained), are those served on an entity that holds an account where a defendant’s funds are deposited, 7 saved, or invested. Further, OCGA § 18-4-7 (c) provides: “The form for a summons of garnishment on a financial institution shall not be used for a continuing garnishment or continuing garnishment for support.” And the forms provided in the garnishment chapter further support...
...meaning of “financial institution.” The form for “Attachment for summons of garnishment on a financial institution” contains blank spaces for listing “Account or identification numbers of accounts of the Defendant used by the Garnishee.” OCGA § 18-4-77....
...institution could be the garnishee for a general garnishment under OCGA § 18- 4-4 (c) (4). The general affidavit garnishment form contains a box labeled in bold type “Check this box if the Garnishee is a financial institution.” OCGA 4 See also OCGA § 18-4-76, the form for “Summons of garnishment on financial institution,” which provides: “DO NOT USE THIS FORM IF THIS IS A CONTINUING GARNISHMENT . . . 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 su...
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Blach v. Diaz-Verson, 810 S.E.2d 129 (Ga. 2018).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 5, 2018

...8, § 1/SB 255), different forms are required for summonses of garnishment for general garnishments,2 which provide for a 29-day garnishment period, and for garnishments on a financial institution, which provide for a five-day garnishment period. See OCGA § 18-4-4 (c) (2) and (4) ; see also OCGA §§ 18-4-71, 18-4-74 through 18-4-77. After the effective date of the new statute, Blach used the general garnishment forms found in OCGA §§ 18-4-71 and 18-4-74, and AFLAC garnished payments to Diaz-Verson for 29 days after receiving each summons of garnishment. Diaz-Verson filed motions to dismiss all garnishments filed after May 12, 2016, arguing that because Blach used the general form instead of the form for financial institutions, a portion of the funds in the court's registry must be released back to Diaz-Verson.3 See OCGA § 18-4-7 (d) ("When a plaintiff uses the incorrect form for a summons of garnishment of any type, the garnishment shall not be valid and the garnishee shall be relieved of all liability.")....
...e 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. OCGA § 18-4-7 (b) (2) provides that a summons of garnishment on a financial institution shall "state with particularity the defendant's account, identification, or tracking numbers known to the plaintiff used by the garnishee in the identification or adm...
...shments or continuing garnishments for support (or general garnishments under OCGA § 18-4-4 (c) (4) as later explained), are those served on an entity that holds an account where a defendant's funds are deposited, saved, or invested. Further, OCGA § 18-4-7 (c) provides: "The form for a summons of garnishment on a financial institution shall not be used for a continuing garnishment or continuing garnishment for support." And the forms provided in the garnishment chapter further support our con...
...ng the meaning of "financial institution." The form for "Attachment for summons of garnishment on a financial institution" contains blank spaces for listing "Account or identification numbers of accounts of the Defendant used by the Garnishee." OCGA § 18-4-77....
...that a financial institution could be the garnishee for a general garnishment under OCGA § 18-4-4 (c) (4). 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...
...nts." 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 WL 1903904 at *7, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73140 at *23-24. See also OCGA § 18-4-76, the form for "Summons of garnishment on financial institution," which provides: "DO NOT USE THIS FORM IF THIS IS A CONTINUING GARNISHMENT ......
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Rbc Global Asset Mgmt. (u.s.) Inc. v. Lattimore, 907 S.E.2d 696 (Ga. 2024).

Cited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 15, 2024 | 320 Ga. 77

...from Kickin’ Kids. Instead, on December 30, 2022, Lattimore initiated garnishment actions against 12 financial services companies, including Global. She did so by using the statutory form “Summons for Garnishment on a Financial Institution” found in OCGA § 18-4-76....
...r a financial institution. Because Lattimore used the wrong garnishment summons form, Global contended that Lattimore failed to obtain personal jurisdiction over it and the garnishment action and resulting default judgment are invalid under OCGA § 18-4-7 (d). Global also argued that, if the $20 million default judgment against it were allowed to stand, the application of the garnishment statutes under the facts of this case would impose a penalty that violates the due process, equal pro...
...institution under the statute, Lattimore used the wrong summons form to initiate her garnishment action against Global. The garnishment code provides one summons form for a general garnishment and a different form for garnishments on a “financial institution.” See OCGA §§ 18-4-74; 18-4-76; 18-4-78; 18-4-80. It also provides: “When a plaintiff uses the incorrect form for a summons of garnishment of any type, the garnishment shall not be valid and the garnishee shall be relieved of all liability.” OCGA § 18-4-7 (d) (emphasis supplied)....
...Thus, if the process defense is meritorious, as it is here, the default judgment must be set aside. Id. at 626 (6). Moreover, the garnishment code expressly provides that using the incorrect form for a summons of garnishment renders the garnishment invalid and relieves the garnishee of all liability. See OCGA § 18-4-7 (d)....
...Because the garnishment action was initiated by the wrong summons form, the defect was not waived under the circumstances of this case. See Ameriprise Holdings, 371 Ga. App. 323, 328 (2) n.23 (899 SE2d 509) (2024) (“[I]n light of the clear directive contained in OCGA § 18-4-7 (d) ....