S-3950

AN ACT Relating to garnishment proceedings; amending RCW 6.27.005, 6.27.090, 6.27.100, 6.27.190, 6.27.250, and 6.27.320; and adding a new section to chapter 6.27 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 6.27.005 and 1998 c 227 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature recognizes that a garnishee ((~~defendant~~)) has no responsibility for the situation leading to the garnishment of a debtor's wages, funds, or other property, but that the garnishment process is necessary for the enforcement of obligations debtors otherwise fail to honor, and that garnishment procedures benefit the state and the business community as creditors. The state should take whatever measures that are reasonably necessary to reduce or offset the administrative burden on the garnishee ((~~defendant~~)) consistent with the goal of effectively enforcing the debtor's unpaid obligations. This chapter shall be liberally construed in favor of enforcement of the debtors' obligations.

Sec. 2. RCW 6.27.090 and 1988 c 231 s 24 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The writ of garnishment shall set forth in the first paragraph the amount that garnishee is required to hold, which shall be an amount determined as follows: (a)(i) If after judgment, the amount of the judgment remaining unsatisfied on the clerk of the court's execution docket, if any, plus interest to the date of garnishment, as provided in RCW 4.56.110, plus taxable costs and attorney's fees, or (ii) if before judgment, the amount prayed for in the complaint plus estimated taxable costs of suit and attorneys' fees, together with, (b) whether before or after judgment, estimated costs of garnishment as provided in subsection (2) of this section. The court may, by order, set a higher amount to be held upon a showing of good cause by plaintiff.

(2) Costs recoverable in garnishment proceedings, to be estimated for purposes of subsection (1) of this section, include filing fee, service and affidavit fees, postage and costs of certified mail, answer fee or fees, other fees legally chargeable to a plaintiff in the garnishment process, and a garnishment attorney fee in the amount of the greater of fifty dollars or ten percent of (a) the amount of the judgment remaining unsatisfied or (b) the amount prayed for in the complaint. The garnishment attorney fee shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars.

Sec. 3. RCW 6.27.100 and 1998 c 227 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The writ shall be substantially in the following form: PROVIDED, That if the writ is issued under a court order or judgment for child support, the following statement shall appear conspicuously in the caption: "This garnishment is based on a judgment or court order for child support": AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That if the garnishment is for a continuing lien, the form shall be modified as provided in RCW 6.27.340: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That if the writ is not directed to an employer for the purpose of garnishing a defendant's earnings, the paragraph relating to the earnings exemption may be omitted and the paragraph relating to the deduction of processing fees may be omitted:

"IN THE ((~~SUPERIOR~~)) . . . . . COURT

OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR

THE COUNTY OF . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,

Plaintiff, No. . . . .

vs.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,

WRIT OF

Defendant GARNISHMENT

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,

Garnishee

THE STATE OF WASHINGTON TO: .....................................

Garnishee

AND TO: .........................................................

Defendant

The above-named plaintiff has applied for a writ of garnishment against you, claiming that the above-named defendant is indebted to plaintiff and that the amount to be held to satisfy that indebtedness is $ . . . . . ., consisting of:

Balance on Judgment or Amount of Claim $ . . . .

Interest under Judgment from . . . . to . . . . $ . . . .

Taxable Costs and Attorneys' Fees $ . . . .

Estimated Garnishment Costs:

Filing Fee $ . . . .

Service and Affidavit Fees $ . . . .

Postage and Costs of Certified Mail $ . . . .

Answer Fee or Fees (If applicable) $ . . . .

Garnishment Attorney Fee $ . . . .

Other $ . . . .

YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED, unless otherwise directed by the court or by this writ, not to pay any debt, whether earnings subject to this garnishment or any other debt, owed to the defendant at the time this writ was served and not to deliver, sell, or transfer, or recognize any sale or transfer of, any personal property or effects of the defendant in your possession or control at the time when this writ was served. Any such payment, delivery, sale, or transfer is void to the extent necessary to satisfy the plaintiff's claim and costs for this writ with interest.

YOU ARE FURTHER COMMANDED to answer this writ by filling in the attached form according to the instructions in this writ and in the answer forms and, within twenty days after the service of the writ upon you, to mail or deliver the original of such answer to the court, one copy to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney, and one copy to the defendant, in the envelopes provided.

If, at the time this writ was served, you owed the defendant any earnings (that is, wages, salary, commission, bonus, or other compensation for personal services or any periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program), the defendant is entitled to receive amounts that are exempt from garnishment under federal and state law. You must pay the exempt amounts to the defendant on the day you would customarily pay the compensation or other periodic payment. As more fully explained in the answer, the basic exempt amount is the greater of seventy-five percent of disposable earnings or a minimum amount determined by reference to the employee's pay period, to be calculated as provided in the answer. However, if this writ carries a statement in the heading that "This garnishment is based on a judgment or court order for child support," the basic exempt amount is forty percent of disposable earnings.

IF THIS IS A WRIT FOR A CONTINUING LIEN ON EARNINGS, YOU MAY DEDUCT A PROCESSING FEE FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE EMPLOYEE'S EARNINGS AFTER WITHHOLDING UNDER THIS WRIT. THE PROCESSING FEE MAY NOT EXCEED TWENTY DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST ANSWER AND TEN DOLLARS AT THE TIME YOU SUBMIT THE SECOND ANSWER.

If you owe the defendant a debt payable in money in excess of the amount set forth in the first paragraph of this writ, hold only the amount set forth in the first paragraph and any processing fee if one is charged and release all additional funds or property to defendant.

((~~YOUR FAILURE~~)) IF YOU FAIL TO ANSWER THIS WRIT AS COMMANDED ((~~WILL RESULT IN~~)), A JUDGMENT ((~~BEING~~)) MAY BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE PLAINTIFF'S CLAIM AGAINST THE DEFENDANT WITH ACCRUING INTEREST((S)), ATTORNEY FEES, AND COSTS WHETHER OR NOT YOU OWE ANYTHING TO THE DEFENDANT. IF YOU PROPERLY ANSWER THIS WRIT, ANY JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF ANY NONEXEMPT DEBT OR THE VALUE OF ANY NONEXEMPT PROPERTY OR EFFECTS IN YOUR POSSESSION OR CONTROL.

JUDGMENT MAY ALSO BE ENTERED AGAINST THE DEFENDANT FOR COSTS AND FEES INCURRED BY THE PLAINTIFF.

Witness, the Honorable . . . . . . . ., Judge of the ((~~Superior~~)) above-entitled Court, and the seal thereof, this . . . . day of . . . . . ., ((19)) 20. . .

[Seal]

............................. ...............................

Attorney for Clerk of

Plaintiff (or ((~~Superior~~)) the

Plaintiff, Court

if no attorney)

............................. ...............................

Address By

...............................

Address"

Sec. 4. RCW 6.27.190 and 1997 c 296 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

The answer of the garnishee shall be signed by the garnishee or attorney or if the garnishee is a corporation, by an officer, attorney or duly authorized agent of the garnishee, under penalty of perjury, and the original delivered, either personally or by mail, to the clerk of the court that issued the writ, one copy to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney, and one copy to the defendant. The answer shall be made on a form substantially as appears in this section, served on the garnishee with the writ, with minimum exemption amounts for the different pay periods filled in by the plaintiff before service of the answer forms: PROVIDED, That, if the garnishment is for a continuing lien, the answer forms shall be as prescribed in RCW 6.27.340 and 6.27.350: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That if the writ is not directed to an employer for the purpose of garnishing the defendant's wages, paragraphs relating to the earnings exemptions may be omitted.

IN THE ((~~SUPERIOR~~)) . . . . . COURT

OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR

THE COUNTY OF . . . . . .

............................. NO. . . . . .

Plaintiff

vs.

ANSWER

.............................

TO WRIT OF

Defendant

GARNISHMENT

.............................

Garnishee Defendant

On the date the writ of garnishment was issued by the court as indicated by the date appearing on the last page of the writ, defendant (check one) . . . was . . . was not employed by garnishee; defendant (check one) . . . did . . . did not maintain a financial account with garnishee; and garnishee (check one) . . . did . . . did not have possession of or control over any funds, personal property, or effects of defendant.

At the time of service of the writ of garnishment on the garnishee there was due and owing from the garnishee to the above-named defendant $ . . . . . . (On the reverse side of this answer form, or on an attached page, give an explanation of the dollar amount stated, or give reasons why there is uncertainty about your answer.)

If the above amount or any part of it is for personal earnings (that is, compensation payable for personal services, whether called wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and including periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program): Garnishee has deducted from this amount $ . . . . . which is the exemption to which the defendant is entitled, leaving $ . . . . . . that garnishee holds under the writ. The exempt amount is calculated as follows:

Total compensation due defendant $ . . . . . .

LESS deductions for social security and withholding taxes and any other deduction required by law (list separately and identify) $ . . . . . .

Disposable earnings $ . . . . . .

If the title of this writ indicates that this is a garnishment under a child support judgment, enter forty percent of disposable earnings: $ . . . . . . This amount is exempt and must be paid to the defendant at the regular pay time after deducting any processing fee you may charge.

If this is not a garnishment for child support, enter seventy-five percent of disposable earnings: $ . . . . . . . From the listing in the following paragraph, choose the amount for the relevant pay period and enter that amount: $ . . . . . . (If amounts for more than one pay period are due, multiply the preceding amount by the number of pay periods and/or fraction of pay period for which amounts are due and enter that amount: $ . . . . . .) The greater of the amounts entered in this paragraph is the exempt amount and must be paid to the defendant at the regular pay time after deducting any processing fee you may charge.

Minimum exempt amounts for different pay periods: Weekly $ . . . . . .; Biweekly $ . . . . . .; Semimonthly $ . . . . . .; Monthly $ . . . . . .

List all of the personal property or effects of defendant in the garnishee's possession or control when the writ was served. (Use the reverse side of this answer form or attach a schedule if necessary.)

An attorney may answer for the garnishee.

Under penalty of perjury, I affirm that I have examined this answer, including accompanying schedules, and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is true, correct, and complete.

........................ .... ...............................

Signature of

Date

Garnishee Defendant

............................. ...............................

Signature of person

Connection with

answering for

garnishee

.............................

Address of Garnishee

Sec. 5. RCW 6.27.250 and 1988 c 231 s 32 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) If it appears from the answer of the garnishee or if it is otherwise made to appear that the garnishee was indebted to the defendant in any amount, not exempt, when the writ of garnishment was served, and if the required return or affidavit showing service on or mailing to the defendant is on file, the court shall render judgment for the plaintiff against such garnishee for the amount so admitted or found to be due to the defendant from the garnishee, unless such amount exceeds the amount of the plaintiff's claim or judgment against the defendant with accruing interest and costs and attorney's fees as prescribed in RCW 6.27.090, in which case it shall be for the amount of such claim or judgment, with said interest, costs, and fees. In the case of a superior court garnishment, the court shall order the garnishee to pay to the plaintiff through the registry of the court the amount of the judgment against the garnishee, the clerk of the court shall note receipt of any such payment, and the clerk of the court shall disburse the payment to the plaintiff. In the case of a district court garnishment, the court shall order the garnishee to pay the judgment amount directly to the plaintiff. In either case, the court shall inform the garnishee that failure to pay the amount may result in execution of the judgment, including garnishment.

(b) If, prior to judgment, the garnishee tenders to the plaintiff or to the court any amounts due, such tender will support judgment against the garnishee in the amount so tendered, subject to any exemption claimed within the time required in RCW 6.27.160 after the amounts are tendered, and subject to any controversion filed within the time required in RCW 6.27.210 after the amounts are tendered. Any amounts tendered to the court by or on behalf of the garnishee or the defendant prior to judgment shall be disbursed to the party entitled to same upon entry of judgment or order, and any amounts so tendered after entry of judgment or order shall be disbursed upon receipt to the party entitled to same.

(2) If it shall appear from the answer of the garnishee and the same is not controverted, or if it shall appear from the hearing or trial on controversion or by stipulation of the parties that the garnishee is indebted to the principal defendant in any sum, but that such indebtedness is not matured and is not due and payable, and if the required return or affidavit showing service on or mailing to the defendant is on file, the court shall make an order requiring the garnishee to pay such sum into court when the same becomes due, the date when such payment is to be made to be specified in the order, and in default thereof that judgment shall be entered against the garnishee for the amount of such indebtedness so admitted or found due. In case the garnishee pays the sum at the time specified in the order, the payment shall operate as a discharge, otherwise judgment shall be entered against the garnishee for the amount of such indebtedness, which judgment shall have the same force and effect, and be enforced in the same manner as other judgments entered against garnishees as provided in this chapter: PROVIDED, That if judgment is rendered in favor of the principal defendant, or if any judgment rendered against the principal defendant is satisfied prior to the date of payment specified in an order of payment entered under this subsection, the garnishee shall not be required to make the payment, nor shall any judgment in such case be entered against the garnishee.

(3) The court shall, upon request of the plaintiff at the time judgment is rendered against the garnishee or within one year thereafter, or within one year after service of the writ on the garnishee if no judgment is taken against the garnishee, render judgment against the defendant for recoverable garnishment costs and attorney fees. However, if it appears from the answer of garnishee or otherwise that, at the time the writ was issued, the garnishee held no funds, personal property, or effects of the defendant and, in the case of a garnishment on earnings, the defendant was not employed by the garnishee, or, in the case of a writ directed to a financial institution, the defendant maintained no account therein, then the plaintiff may not be awarded judgment against the defendant for such costs or attorney fees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 6.27 RCW to read as follows:

The judgment on garnishee's answer or tendered funds, and for costs against defendant, and the order to pay funds shall be substantially in the following form:

IN THE . . . . COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF . . . . .

............................. NO. . . . . .

Plaintiff

vs.......................... JUDGMENT AND ORDER

............................. TO PAY

............................. (Clerk's Action Required)

.............................

... Defendant

.............................

... Garnishee

................... Judgment Summary

Judgment Creditor ............................

Garnishment Judgment Debtor ............................

Garnishment Judgment Amount ............................

Costs Judgment Debtor ............................

Costs Judgment Amount ............................

Judgments to bear interest at ............................ %

Attorney for Judgment Creditor............................

IT APPEARING THAT garnishee was indebted to defendant in the nonexempt amount of $ . . . . . .; that at the time the writ of garnishment was issued defendant was employed by or maintained a financial institution account with garnishee, or garnishee had in its possession or control funds, personal property, or effects of defendant; and that plaintiff has incurred recoverable costs and attorney fees of $. . . .; now, therefore, it is hereby

ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that plaintiff is awarded judgment against garnishee in the amount of $. . . .; that plaintiff is awarded judgment against defendant in the amount of $ . . . . . . for recoverable costs; that, if this is a superior court order, garnishee shall pay its judgment amount to plaintiff through the registry of the court, and the clerk of the court shall note receipt thereof and forthwith disburse such payment to plaintiff; that, if this is a district court order, garnishee shall pay its judgment amount to plaintiff directly or through plaintiff's attorney, and if any payment is received by the clerk of the court, the clerk shall forthwith disburse such payment to plaintiff. Garnishee is advised that the failure to pay its judgment amount may result in execution of the judgment, including garnishment.

DONE IN OPEN COURT this . . . . . . day of . . . ., 20. .

.......................

Judge/Court Commissioner

Presented by:

..................

Attorney for Plaintiff

Sec. 7. RCW 6.27.320 and 1969 ex.s. c 264 s 31 are each amended to read as follows:

In any case where garnishee has answered that it is holding funds or property belonging to defendant and plaintiff shall obtain satisfaction of ((~~his~~)) the judgment and payment of recoverable garnishment costs and attorney fees from a source other than the garnishment, upon written demand of the defendant or the garnishee, it shall be the duty of plaintiff to obtain an order dismissing the garnishment and to serve it upon the garnishee within twenty days after the demand or the satisfaction of judgment and payment of costs and fees, whichever shall be later. In the event of the failure of plaintiff to obtain and serve such an order, if garnishee continues to hold such funds or property, defendant shall be entitled to move for dismissal of the garnishment and shall further be entitled to a judgment against plaintiff of one hundred dollars plus defendant's costs and damages. Dismissal may be on ex parte motion of the plaintiff.