Tennessee § 26-2-214 - Garnishment of compensation due from garnishee.

§ 26-2-214. Garnishment of compensation due from garnishee.

Upon the garnishment of earnings due from a garnishee, the garnishee shall: Pay the judgment debtor the amount of such debtor’s exempt earnings; Submit as a part of the judgment debtor’s answer to the garnishment a statement of the judgment debtor’s dependent children under sixteen (16) years of age who are residents of this state; and Furnish the judgment debtor with a copy of the garnishment summons containing the notice of the judgment debtor’s right to the exemptions from wage garnishment specified in federal law and in §§ 26-2-106 and 26-2-107 of the right to apply to the court for an order staying further garnishment and allowing the judgment debtor to pay the judgment in installments, and of procedures the judgment debtor can follow to contest the garnishment. To the extent of the amount due upon the judgment and costs, the garnishee shall hold, subject to the order of the court, any nonexempt earnings due or that subsequently become due. The judgment or balance due is a lien on earnings due at the time of the service of the execution. The lien shall continue as to subsequent earnings until the total amount due upon the judgment and costs is paid or satisfied, or until the expiration of the payment period immediately prior to six (6) calendar months after service of the execution, whichever occurs first. The lien on subsequent earnings shall terminate sooner if the relationship between judgment debtor and garnishee is terminated or if the underlying judgment is vacated or modified. A lien obtained under this section shall have priority over any subsequent liens obtained under this section. Nothing in this section with respect to the relationship between the judgment debtor and the garnishee shall be construed to affect the underlying relationship of the parties, including, but not limited to, the relationship of employer-employee or the independent contractor relationship as otherwise provided by law. Acts 1978, ch. 915, § 33; T.C.A., § 26-243; Acts 1988, ch. 934, § 14; 1993, ch. 258, §§ 1, 2; 1994, ch. 827, § 1; 2016, ch. 851, § 1. Code Commission Notes. Acts 1993, ch. 258, § 1, which purported to amend subdivision (b)(1) of this section, is not codified. Section 1, which states, in relevant part, that subdivision (b)(1) is amended by deleting “or until the expiration of the employer's payroll period immediately prior to six (6) calendar months after service of the execution, whichever occurs first,” attempts to delete language which is not in the section. The attorney general and reporter stated in Opinion No. 93-50, dated July 23, 1993, that this amendment is subject to three possible interpretations and that “due to irregularities in the enactment of Public Chapter 258, however, this Office cannot definitively state which interpretation should be followed and such determination can only be made either through further legislative or judicial action.” Cross-References. Assignment of income by a court for child support, § 50-2-105 . Attorney General Opinions. Garnishment of employee tips, OAG 85-215, 1985 Tenn. AG LEXIS 75 (7/24/85). Effect of public chapter 258 on T.C.A. § 26-2-214 , OAG 93-50, 1993 Tenn. AG LEXIS 48 (7/23/93). Even if an existing writ of garnishment is deducting the maximum amount, a later-filed writ would run concurrently with the first writ as long as the second writ seeks to deduct an amount that is less than the maximum allowable amount. Accordingly, the second writ would run concurrently with the first writ, but the second writ would generate no payments to the judgment creditor as long as the first writ remains in effect because the first writ is deducting the maximum amount allowable. Similarly, if an existing writ of garnishment is deducting less than the maximum amount allowable, a later-filed writ would run concurrently with the existing writ as long as the second writ seeks to deduct an amount that is less than the maximum allowable amount. The second writ could generate only up to the difference between the maximum allowable amount and the first writ. For instance, if Tenn. Code Ann. § 26-2-106(a) establishes the maximum allowable amount that may be garnished from a particular judgment debtor’s disposable earnings at 25% and the first writ is garnishing 15% of the debtor’s disposable earnings, the second writ could garnish only 10%. Once the first writ of garnishment is satisfied or expires, though, the second writ adjusts upward, as long as the amount being garnished does not exceed 25%. Adjusting the second writ of garnishment upward does not alter when the six-month time period prescribed in T.C.A. § 26-2-214 begins. The lien created by the second writ would begin at the time of its service. OAG 19-10, 2019 Tenn. AG LEXIS 12 (7/3/2019).