Document 82raapRrgrgkyaakK74645bNK

Success stories tion. "John Tough, a Pennsylvania creditor with the finalized judgment, is told by his lawyer he can't levy on patent rights or copyrights. He finds royalties payable to his debtor by a. manufacturing company. John Tough can gamish the manufactur ing company for royalties. *A tenant is behind in his rent and owes the judgment debtor $5,000, which the judgment debtor will soon receive. Very probably the money can be garnished. On the other hand, rent not yet due is usually not subject to garnish ment because it is not a ` 'debt due. ' ' `Garnishment laws quite often permit a creditor to gamish shares or interests of a stockholder in a corporation. *8y a construction contract's pro visions with the owner of the building to be built, the contractor gets paid in in stallments. Although the job is far from finished, the painter with a judgment against the contractor can gamish the contractor's debtor, the owner of the building (garnishee). A contractor abandons a construc tion project owing money to a painting subcontractor, who reduces his claim to judgment. The contractor, nevertheless, has money coming to him from his debtors. The painting subcontractor can probably gamish this money suc cessfully. Some courts will rule such a debt cannot be garnished until it is past due, so this aspect should be checked. Other courts will definitely allow a debt presently and unconditionally due sub ject to garnishment, even if the debt is not payable until a certain date in the future. Some statutes are even broad enough to include debts which are really owing although not yet payable because the amount due is not settled. Keep in mind that garnishment laws are products of legislation. The federal law works against the creditor who garnishes the *A construction company owes a painting contractor money for work performed, and the painter takes judg ment. The owner takes possession of the building, but the amount, which the con struction company is to be paid, is uncer tain for the construction company owner has not completed the work as the con tract required nor has he finished on time. The owner does not pay. In such a situation, a Rhode Island court has al lowed the money to be garnished from the building owner as garnishee. `Suppose the painting contractor has reduced his claim for painting services rendered to judgment; then the painter leams that his judgment debtor also has a judgment against another person, result ing from an auto accident, which the debtor kept hush-hush. This was a tort claim for personal injury, suffered by the painting contractor's customer. Normally such tort claims for negligence, libel, slander, trespass, malpractice are unliquidated, (i.e. the money owed is uncertain) and not sub ject to the garnishment statutes. When a final judgment in a tort claim has been taken and the amount of the tort claim owed has finally been made definite, the painting contractor with the judgment can gamish his debtor's right to recover on his own judgment. `Certainly it is a well-settled rule that bank deposits can be garnished, the bank becoming the garnishee. If the money is in a joint account, payable to either the debtor or his survivor, so that either de positor is free at any time to draw it all out, courts have held that such a bank account can be garnished. `If an insurance claim on property in surance has been adjusted, creditors of the insured have been allowed to gamish the proceeds, because the money owed is certain. boss of the consumer, but there are Please turn to many laws still favorable to the creditor garnishing a businessman or a corpora Garnishment-Page 70 JUNE, 1976 33