garnishment

garnishment
/gahr"nish meuhnt/, n.
1. Law.
a. a warning, served on a third party to hold, subject to the court's direction, money or property belonging to a debtor who is being sued by a creditor.
b. a summons to a third party to appear in litigation pending between a creditor and debtor.
2. adornment or decoration.
[1540-50; GARNISH + -MENT]

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In law, attachment of a debtor's wages to satisfy a judgment.

Under a garnishment order, the court requires the employer to deduct and pay to the creditor a percentage of the debtor's salary until the debt is satisfied. As legal redress, the practice can be traced to Roman law. See also debtor and creditor.

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      (from Middle French garnir, meaning “to warn”), a process by which a creditor can obtain satisfaction of an indebtedness of the debtor by initiating a proceeding to attach property or other assets. A common form of garnishment involves a creditor attaching the wages of an employee owed to him by his employer. The creditor instituting the proceedings is the garnisher, the person indebted is the debtor-employee, and the party holding the property (the employer) is the garnishee. The result of a garnishment of salary proceeding, if successful, is an order of the court requiring the employer to deduct and pay to the creditor a percentage of the debtor's salary until the debt is satisfied.

      The remedies of garnishment and attachment are traceable to Roman law and were a recognized practice of medieval merchants. The availability and scope of the remedy today depends on statutory authorization; statutory provisions differ among the various countries having garnishment statutes.

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Universalium. 2010.

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