8.01-511 - Institution of garnishment proceedings.
§ 8.01-511. Institution of garnishment proceedings.
On a suggestion by the judgment creditor that, by reason of the lien of hiswrit of fieri facias, there is a liability on any person other than thejudgment debtor or that there is in the hands of some person in his capacityas personal representative of some decedent a sum of money to which ajudgment debtor is or may be entitled as creditor or distributee of suchdecedent, upon which sum when determined such writ of fieri facias is a lien,a summons in the form prescribed by § 8.01-512.3 may (i) be sued out of theclerk's office of the court from which an execution on the judgment is issuedso long as the judgment shall remain enforceable as provided in § 8.01-251,(ii) be sued out of the clerk's office to which an execution issued thereonhas been returned as provided in § 16.1-99 against such person, or (iii) besued out of the clerk's office from which an execution issued as provided in§ 16.1-278.18. The summons and the notice and claim for exemption formrequired pursuant to § 8.01-512.4 shall be served on the garnishee, and shallbe served on the judgment debtor promptly after service on the garnishee.Service on the judgment debtor and the garnishee shall be made pursuant tosubdivision 1 or 2 of § 8.01-296. When making an application for garnishment,the judgment creditor shall set forth on the suggestion for summons ingarnishment the last known address of the judgment debtor, and shall furnishthe clerk, if service is to be made by the sheriff, or shall furnish anyother person making service with an envelope, with first-class postageattached, addressed to such address. A copy of the summons and the notice andclaim for exemptions form required under § 8.01-512.4 shall be sent by theclerk to the sheriff or provided by the judgment creditor to the personmaking service, with the process to be served. Promptly after service on thegarnishee, the person making service shall mail such envelope by first-classmail to the judgment debtor at his last known address. If the person makingservice is unable to serve the judgment debtor pursuant to subdivision 1 of §8.01-296, such mailing shall satisfy the mailing requirements of subdivision2 b of § 8.01-296. The person making service shall note on his return thedate of such mailing which, with the notation "copy mailed to judgmentdebtor," shall be sufficient proof of the mailing of such envelope with therequired copy of the summons and the notice and claim for exemption form withno examination of such contents being required nor separate certification bythe clerk or judgment creditor that the appropriate documents have been soinserted. If the person making service is unable to serve the judgment debtorpursuant to subdivision 1 or 2 of § 8.01-296, such mailing shall constituteservice of process on the judgment debtor. The judgment creditor shallfurnish the social security number of the judgment debtor to the clerk,except as hereinafter provided.
The judgment creditor may require the judgment debtor to furnish his correctsocial security number by the use of interrogatories. However, use of suchinterrogatories shall not be a required condition of a judgment creditor'sdiligent good faith effort to secure the judgment debtor's social securitynumber. Such remedy shall be in addition to all other lawful remediesavailable to the judgment creditor.
Except as hereinafter provided, no summons shall be issued pursuant to thissection for the garnishment of wages, salaries, commissions, or otherearnings unless it: (i) is in the form prescribed by § 8.01-512.3; (ii) isdirected to only one garnishee for the garnishment of only one judgmentdebtor; (iii) contains both the "TOTAL BALANCE DUE" and the social securitynumber of the judgment debtor in the proper places as provided on thesummons; and (iv) specifies that it is a garnishment against (a) the judgmentdebtor's wages, salary, or other compensation or (b) some other debt due orproperty of the judgment debtor. The garnishee shall not be liable to thejudgment creditor for any property not specified in the summons as providedin (iv) above. Upon receipt of a summons not in compliance with thisprovision, the garnishee shall file a written answer to that effect and shallhave no liability to the judgment creditor, such summons being void upontransmission of the answer.
However, if the judgment which the judgment creditor seeks to enforce (i)does not involve a business, trade or professional credit transaction enteredinto on or after January 1, 1984, or (ii) is based on any transaction enteredinto prior to January 1, 1984, then upon a representation by the judgmentcreditor, or his agent or attorney, that he has made a diligent good faitheffort to secure the social security number of the judgment debtor and hasbeen unable to do so, the garnishment shall be issued without the necessityfor such number. In such cases, if the judgment debtor's correct socialsecurity number is not shown in the place provided on the summons, and thejudgment debtor's name and address as shown on the garnishment summons do notmatch the name and current address of any employee as shown on the currentpayroll records of the garnishee, the garnishee shall file a written answerto that effect and shall have no liability to the judgment creditor, suchsummons being void upon transmission of the answer.
The judgment creditor shall, in the suggestion, specify the amount ofinterest, if any, that is claimed to be due upon the judgment, calculated tothe return day of the summons. He shall also set out such credits as may havebeen made upon the judgment.
No summons shall be issued pursuant to this section at the suggestion of thejudgment creditor or his assignee against the wages of a judgment debtorunless the judgment creditor, or his agent or attorney, shall allege in hissuggestion that the judgment for which enforcement is sought either (i)involves a business, trade, or professional credit transaction entered intoon or after January 1, 1984, or (ii) does not involve a business, trade, orprofessional credit transaction entered into on or after January 1, 1984, anda diligent good faith effort has been made by the judgment creditor, or hisagent or attorney, to secure the social security number of the judgmentdebtor.
In addition, the suggestion shall contain an allegation that:
1. The summons is based upon a judgment upon which a prior summons has beenissued but not fully satisfied; or
2. No summons has been issued upon his suggestion against the same judgmentdebtor within a period of 18 months, other than under the provisions ofsubdivision 1; or
3. The summons is based upon a judgment granted against a debtor upon a debtdue or made for necessary food, rent or shelter, public utilities includingtelephone service, drugs, or medical care supplied the debtor by the judgmentcreditor or to one of his lawful dependents, and that it was not for luxuriesor nonessentials; or
4. The summons is based upon a judgment for a debt due the judgment creditorto refinance a lawful loan made by an authorized lending institution; or
5. The summons is based upon a judgment on an obligation incurred as anendorser or comaker upon a lawful note; or
6. The summons is based upon a judgment for a debt or debts reaffirmed afterbankruptcy.
Any judgment creditor who knowingly gives false information upon any suchsuggestion or certificate made under this chapter shall be guilty of a Class1 misdemeanor.
(Code 1950, § 8-441; 1960, c. 502; 1966, c. 212; 1972, c. 104; 1976, c. 659;1977, cc. 454, 617; 1978, cc. 321, 506; 1979, cc. 242, 345; 1980, c. 537;1983, cc. 399, 468; 1984, c. 1; 1985, c. 524; 1991, c. 534; 1996, cc. 501,608; 2006, c. 55.)