The problems with garnishment.
I recently had a client who went through Small claims Court and got a default judgment on the surface this seems like a good thing. In this article we are going to discuss some issues with the garnishment process and why a default judgment may not be the best way to go.
The case started in the autumn of 2023 my client had paid the debtor to do renovation work on her home. The debtor did not do the work satisfactorily. She contacted me and I filed a Small Claims case. I asked my client where the debtor banks and she told me TD. I contacted my very trusted process server to serve the debtor and his company with our claim. The debtor took the documents read them and threw them on the floor in front of my server. We filed an affidavit of service gave him the required time to file a response and when none came noted them (him and his company) in default.
I went through the process of getting a default judgment, and when we finally got it, it was not enough to include legal fees, service costs, court fees and the original amount plus interest. As the debtor/defendant was avoiding us I could not get more information. But we did believe he baked at TD so instead of requesting an examination hearing which would have yielded nothing but a contempt of court I decided to start a garnishment naming TD bank as the garnishee.
Historically I have seen many cases of an examination hearing where a contempt of court and arrest warrant are issued but the debtor just avoids arrest and goes under the radar yielding nothing which is why I do not like going that route.
I got contacted by the banks lawyer who claimed the bank never got my original notice of garnishment. I had faxed it in August 2024 and spoke to someone at the bank but they just have disregarded it. The court did not have a copy-apparently there had been a glitch in the system the week I sent it and some documents had been lost!! Thus the bank threatened to sue my client for costs if we did not withdraw the garnishment. I. Order to avoid my client being sued I withdrew the garnishment hearing and went bank with other collection alternative outside the court.
Sometimes the justice system misses justice.