Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Maryland
Wrongful Garnishment
On July 13, 1999, judgement was entered against me at
the conclusion of a hearing. On July 28, 1999,
I sent payment for the full amount of $1,185
to the plaintiff's attorney. The attorney responded on
August 11 acknowledging the receipt of the
payment but stated that I owed an additional
$15 for court costs and interest. I responded
that it was petty to ask for $5 in interest
and demanded to know where the $10 court cost
came from.
To my utmost shock, I received a letter from
my bank on September 15 stating that my
checking account had been garnished for the
sum of $1,345. I filed a motion in court the
following day asking the judge to revoke
the writ of garnishment, but the attorney for
the plaintiff filed a counter-motion asking
the judge to deny. We are yet to meet for the
hearing for the motions.
My question is, did the attorney misuse the
process of garnishment, and if so, what
recourse do I have since I incurred costs
for garnishment and several NSF on my account?
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Wrongful Garnishment
You do owe the court costs and whatever interest had accrued.
When filing with the Court the garnishment writ, the Plaintiff should have noted the credit in the amount you paid, leaving only the $15 or so to garnish. If he did not do that, he is subject to sanctions, and if the attorney regularly collects debts, he could be liable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If the garnishment was filed before the check was received, of course, it would properly not show the credit. But the creditor's lawyer is committing fraud if he asks for more than the costs and interest.