Garnishments Out-of-State

While I have had good results in issuing garnishments out of state, especially when the garnishee is a bank that operates nationwide, success is not always guaranteed.  Diversity in jurisdiction does create some issues.  A good example of this arose in a case in the United States District Court where the Court granted a debtor’s motion to quash a garnishment summons after finding that the debtor’s wages were not located in Virginia.  The garnishment summons had been issued by a Virginia creditor that was a Virginia hospital.  The debtor was a Pennsylvania resident doctor.  The garnishee was an Ohio company.  The court ruled that the garnishment summons issued by the court was ineffective to garnish the wages not located in Virginia.