CIVIL PRACTICE & REMEDIES CODE
CHAPTER 63. GARNISHMENT
§ 63.001. GROUNDS. A writ of garnishment is available
if:
(1) an original attachment has been issued;
(2) a plaintiff sues for a debt and makes an affidavit
stating that:
(A) the debt is just, due, and unpaid;
(B) within the plaintiff's knowledge, the
defendant does not possess property in Texas subject to execution
sufficient to satisfy the debt; and
(C) the garnishment is not sought to injure the
defendant or the garnishee; or
(3) a plaintiff has a valid, subsisting judgment and
makes an affidavit stating that, within the plaintiff's knowledge,
the defendant does not possess property in Texas subject to
execution sufficient to satisfy the judgment.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 63.002. WHO MAY ISSUE. The clerk of a district or
county court or a justice of the peace may issue a writ of
garnishment returnable to his court.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 63.003. EFFECT OF SERVICE. (a) After service of a
writ of garnishment, the garnishee may not deliver any effects or
pay any debt to the defendant. If the garnishee is a corporation or
joint-stock company, the garnishee may not permit or recognize a
sale or transfer of shares or an interest alleged to be owned by the
defendant.
(b) A payment, delivery, sale, or transfer made in violation
of Subsection (a) is void as to the amount of the debt, effects,
shares, or interest necessary to satisfy the plaintiff's demand.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 63.004. CURRENT WAGES EXEMPT. Except as otherwise
provided by state or federal law, current wages for personal
service are not subject to garnishment. The garnishee shall be
discharged from the garnishment as to any debt to the defendant for
current wages.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended
by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 466, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 63.005. PLACE FOR TRIAL. (a) If a garnishee other
than a foreign corporation is not a resident of the county in which
the original suit is pending or was tried and a party to the suit
files an affidavit controverting the garnishee's answer, the issues
raised by the answer and controverting affidavit shall be tried in
the county in which the garnishee resides. The issues may be tried
in a court of that county that has jurisdiction of the amount of the
original judgment if the plaintiff files with the court a certified
copy of the judgment in the original suit and a certified copy of
the proceedings in garnishment, including the plaintiff's
application for the writ, the garnishee's answer, and the
controverting affidavit.
(b) If a garnishee whose answer is controverted is a foreign
corporation, the issues raised by the answer and controverting
affidavit shall be tried in the court in which the original suit is
pending or was tried.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 63.006. ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR CERTAIN COSTS INCURRED
BY EMPLOYERS. (a) An employer who is required by state or federal
law to deduct from the current wages of an employee an amount
garnished under a withholding order may deduct monthly an
administrative fee as provided by Subsection (b) from the
employee's disposable earnings in addition to the amount required
to be withheld under the withholding order. This section does not
apply to income withholding under Chapter 158, Family Code.
(b) The administrative fee deducted under Subsection (a)
may not exceed the lesser of:
(1) the actual administrative cost incurred by the
employer in complying with the withholding order; or
(2) $10.
(c) For the purposes of this section, 'withholding order'
means:
(1) a withholding order issued under Section 488A,
Part F, Subchapter IV, Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1095a); and
(2) any analogous order issued under a state or
federal law that:
(A) requires the garnishment of an employee's
current wages; and
(B) does not contain an express provision
authorizing or prohibiting the payment of the administrative costs
incurred by the employer in complying with the garnishment by the
affected employee.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 466, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 63.007. GARNISHMENT OF FUNDS HELD IN INMATE TRUST
FUND. (a) A writ of garnishment may be issued against an inmate
trust fund held under the authority of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice under Section 501.014, Government Code, to
encumber money that is held for the benefit of an inmate in the
fund.
(b) The state's sovereign immunity to suit is waived only to
the extent necessary to authorize a garnishment action in
accordance with this section.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1409, § 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Renumbered from § 63.006 by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, §
19.01(4), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 63.008. FINANCIAL INSTITUTION AS GARNISHEE. Service
of a writ of garnishment on a financial institution named as the
garnishee in the writ is governed by Section 59.008, Finance Code.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 344, § 7.004, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.
