Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Mississippi

Garnishment from Checking Account

This is for a young friend of ours. He goes to school and receives benfits for schooling from the Veterans Administration. He is also certified in computer repair. Someone sued him regarding computer repair for $195. They won and as a result the monies + interest were ''garnished'' directly from his checking account. There was a ''writ of garnishment sent to the bank and the bank they filed an answer and the money was taken from the account. This is school funds, not an actual pay check. Is this legal????

We would appreciate any help/advice you could pass along.


Asked on 8/06/02, 2:19 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Jeffery Navarro Jeffery M. Navarro, Attorney at Law

Re: Garnishment from Checking Account

I presume that there was a judgment entered against your friend. As to the funds in the account, once the funds are put into a non-protected account, they are subject to garnishment.

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Answered on 8/07/02, 1:24 pm
Albert Pettigrew Law Offices Ph 228-875-8736

Re: Garnishment from Checking Account

The funds probably could not have been garnished from the Veterans Administration, but once they were deposited to a bank account, they were probably subject to garnishment. Have your friend check with the Veterans Administration to see if they are aware of any law that forbids such garnishments. If there is one, your friend needs to ask the court to order the funds returned.

Additionally, your friend might argue that the funds were otherwise exempt from garnishment because they were part of his estate that is exempt from creditors. It may be that the law exempts every Miss. debtor's first $5000 value. This sugestion is being made without the benefit of any legal research so your friend should research the law before going to the court to see how strong the law may support it.

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Answered on 8/06/02, 5:19 pm


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