Opinion
3:15CV356
09-22-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. SYLVIA J. FORD, Defendant, and COUNTY OF GASTON, Garnishee.
County of Gaston
Financial Litigation Unit
WRIT OF CONTINUING GARNISHMENT
Graham C. Mullen, United States District Judge
An Application for a Writ of Garnishment against property of Sylvia J. Ford, the Defendant, has been filed with this Court (Doc. No. 19). Judgment in the above captioned matter was entered on October 27, 2015 (Doc. No. 10), in favor of the United States against the Defendant for recovery of the judgment amount of $86,628.80 and post-judgment interest at the rate of 0.23 percent, compounded annually. The total balance due is $80,983.93, as of September 9, 2022.
You, as the Garnishee, are required by law to answer in writing, under oath, within ten (10) days of service of this Writ, whether or not you have in your custody, control or possession, any property, or funds owned by the Defendant, including non-exempt, disposable earnings.
You must withhold and retain any property in which the Defendant has a substantial non-exempt interest and for which you are or may become indebted to the Defendant pending further order of the Court. This means that you should withhold twenty-five percent of the Defendant's disposable earnings which remain after all deductions required by law have been withheld, or the amount by which the Defendant's disposable earnings for each week exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less. See 15 U.S.C. §1673(a).
Please state whether or not you anticipate paying the Defendant any future payments and whether such payments are weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, annually or bi-annually.
You must file the original written Answer to this Writ within ten (10) days of your receipt of this Writ with the following office:
Clerk of the United States District Court
401 West Trade Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
Additionally, you are required by law to serve a copy of the Answer upon the Defendant at his/her last known address:
Sylvia J. Ford
1766 Fern Forest Drive
Gastonia, North Carolina 28054
You are also required to serve a copy of the Answer upon the Plaintiff at the following address:
Julia K. Wood
Assistant United States Attorney
Financial Litigation Unit
United States Attorney's Office
227 West Trade Street, Suite 1650
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
Under the law, there is property which may be exempt from this Writ of Garnishment. Property which is exempt and which is not subject to this order may be listed on the attached Claim for Exemption form.
Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §1674, you, the Garnishee, are prohibited from discharging the Defendant from employment by reason of the fact that his earnings have been subject to garnishment for any one indebtedness.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §3205(c)(6), if you fail to answer this Writ or withhold property or funds in accordance with this Writ, the United States of America may petition the Court for an order requiring you to appear before the Court to answer the Writ and to withhold property before the appearance date. If you fail to appear, or do appear and fail to show good cause why you failed to comply with this Writ, the Court shall enter a judgment against you for the value of the Defendant's non-exempt interest in such property. The Court may award a reasonable attorney's fee to the United States and against you if the Writ is not answered within the time specified. It is unlawful to pay or deliver to the Defendant any item attached by this Writ.
Payments should be made payable to the United States Department of Justice, with a reference to the Defendant's name and the Court number listed in the memo section of the payment. The payment should be mailed to the following address:
U.S. Department of Justice
Nationwide Central Intake Facility
P. O. Box 790363
St. Louis, Missouri63179-0363
SO ORDERED.
CIVIL CLAIM FOR EXEMPTION FORM
MAJOR CLAIMS FOR EXEMPTION UNDER FEDERAL LAW
You can claim Federal exemptions by checking items below, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §522(d), or you can claim exemptions under North Carolina State Law by using the attached NC State Form Motion to Claim Exempt Property.
Federal Exemptions.
1. Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security (42 U.S.C. § 407).
2. Veterans' benefits (38 U.S.C. § 5301).
2a. Members of armed services (10 U.S.C. § 1440).
3. Federal civil service retirement benefits (5 U.S.C. § 8346 and 22 U.S.C. §4060(c).
4. Annuities to survivors of federal judges (28 U.S.C. § 376(n)
5. Longshoremen and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. § 916).
6. Blank lung benefits (30 U.S.C. §§ 931(b)(2)(F) and 932(a)).
6a. Seaman's, master's, or fisherman's wages, except for child support or spousal support and maintenance (46 U.S.C.A. §§ 11108(a)-11109(a-c)).
Exemptions 1 through 6 above many not be applicable in child support and alimony cases (42 U.S.C. § 659).
6b. Railroad retirement, pension, unemployment benefits (45 U.S.C. §§ 231(m), 352(e).
7. Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. § 522(d) which generally provides exemptions for:
(a) $25,150 of equity in your residence.
(b) $4,000 of equity in a motor vehicle.
(c) Jewelry worth up to $1,700.
(d)Personal property worth up to $13,400. (However, no single item worth more than $625 can be claimed as exempt.)
(e) Property totaling up to $1,325 in value, plus up to $12,575 of any unused amount of the exemption provided in number 7(a) above.
(f) $2,525 of equity in professional books, implements or tools, of your trade or your dependant's trade.
(g)Any unmatured life insurance contract you own, other than credit life insurance.
(h)The aggregate value, up to $13,400, of any accrued dividend or interest under, or loan value of, any unmatured life insurance contract you own, but only if you are the insured or you are a dependant of the insured.
(i) Professionally prescribed health aids for you or your dependants.
(j) Unemployment compensation benefits, local public assistance benefits, disability benefits, illness benefits; and alimony, support, and separate maintenance, to the extent these items are reasonably necessary for your support or the support of your dependants.
(k)A payment under a stock bonus, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, or similar plan or contract on account of illness, disability, death, age, or length of service, to the extent reasonably necessary for your support or the support of your dependants, subject to the limitations set forth at Title 11 United States Code Section 522(d)(10)(E)(I)-(iii).
(1) Your right to receive, or property that is traceable to, - an award under a crime victim's reparation law;
- a payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom you were a dependant, but only to the extent reasonably necessary for your support or the support of your dependants;
- a payment under a life insurance contract that insured an individual of whom you were a dependant on the date of the insured's death, but only to the extent reasonably necessary for your support or the support of your dependants;
- a payment, not to exceed $25,150, on account of personal bodily injury suffered by you or by an individual of whom you are a dependant; however, payment for pain and suffering or payment to compensate actual pecuniary loss are not exempt under this paragraph;
- a payment in compensation of loss of your future earnings or the future earnings of an individual of whom you are, or were, a dependant, but only to the extent reasonably necessary for your support or the support of your dependants.
The statements made in this claim of settlement to exemptions and request for hearing as to exemption entitlement and fair market value of the property or funds designated are made and declared under penalty of perjury that they are true and correct.
[ ] I hereby request a Court hearing to decide the validity of my claims.