When a creditor is collecting a judgment, it will often file writs of garnishment against any party the creditor has reason to believe is holding property of its debtor. After this third party (the "Garnishee Defendant") receives a writ of garnishment, it is required to file a Garnishee Disclosure which details any property of the debtor the Garnishee Defendant has in its possession. Frequently, the debtor also owes the Garnishee Defendant money and a dispute will arise as to who is entitled to the debtor's property. Michigan Court Rule 3.101(L) specifically provides that a creditor "may serve the garnishee with written interrogatories or notice the deposition of the garnishee." Michigan Court Rule 3.101(M) also states that the "facts stated in the disclosure must be accepted as true unless the Plaintiff has served interrogatories or noticed a deposition within the time allowed by subrule (l)."
This right to conduct discovery can actually act as a trap for the unwary and prevent a creditor from collecting everything it is entitled to. For example, in Alyas v Illinois Employers Insurance of Wausau, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that a Garnishee Defendant insurance company's statement that there was no liability owed under an insurance policy must be accepted as a true statement because the creditor did not file any discovery within fourteen days of receipt of the Garnishee Disclosure. In Local 58 v. Einsten Electric, the Eastern District of Michigan followed Alyas noting that a plaintiff who does not file timely discovery cannot attack the accuracy of a Garnishee Disclosure. Alyas and Local 58 may be cited by parties to defend a Garnishee Defendant's completely inaccurate disclosure and to prevent a plaintiff from later challenging the truth of the Garnishee Disclosure.
When you are a creditor seeking to collect a judgment, you should promptly file interrogatories requesting further information about any ambiguous Garnishee Disclosures. Moreover, if you have any other reason to believe that the Garnishee Disclosure is incomplete or otherwise inaccurate, you must file interrogatories in order to ensure that you don't waive any rights to pursue a Garnishee Defendant who has not fully disclosed debtor's property in its possession. Finally, if you are a creditor who is responding to a writ of garnishment it is worth the time to carefully include specific statements of fact in the disclosure. If no discovery is filed by the creditor seeking to collect its judgment, these disclosed facts will be accepted as true in any subsequent proceeding, possibly preventing unnecessary litigation costs.