(a) Should service of notice of a garnishment on a judgment in which an appearance has not been entered for the defendant be returned not found or otherwise not accomplished, service of the notice of garnishment may be perfected by the posting and mailing of the notice upon motion and order. The posting and mailing of the notice of garnishment is accomplished in the following manner:

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Terms Used In Alabama Code 6-6-394.1

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • circuit: means judicial circuit. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
(1) A request for an order permitting service by posting and mailing shall be made upon the court by verified motion attesting that notice was issued to the defendant contemporaneously with the service of process of garnishment upon the garnishee, but was returned not found or service was otherwise not accomplished.
(2) If the motion is granted by written court order, the clerk of the court shall post a copy of the notice of the garnishment and written court order authorizing the posting on the clerk of the court’s official website and in a designated and conspicuous location within the courthouse where the action is pending for four continuous weeks, or as may be directed by the court order. If the court determines that an additional location for the posting is necessary, the court, for good cause shown, may order an additional posting in any other public place for four continuous weeks, or as may be directed by the court order. The additional posting shall be the responsibility of the plaintiff.
(3) The last date of the posting must be at least five days before any judgment of condemnation is entered against the garnishee and shall identify the name of the parties, the court in which the action is pending, and the case number. In addition, except in proceedings to collect child or spousal support, the notice shall also contain the statement concerning rights of exemption as provided in Rule 64A of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure.
(4) At the time of posting, the clerk of the court shall also send by regular U.S. Mail a copy of the posted notice of garnishment to the defendant at the defendant’s last known address.
(5) The effective date of service shall be 28 days from the first date of the website posting.
(6) A fee of fifteen dollars ($15) shall be assessed as additional court costs and collected by the clerk of the court for the county in which the case has been filed. At the time of the filing of the motion for posting and mailing, the moving party shall be responsible for this assessment and the cost of mailing. The additional costs and fees may be made taxable to the defendant upon motion to the court. If the amount subject to a judgment of condemnation is less than twenty-five dollars ($25), the court may order waiver of the fee assessment upon motion.
(b) The fees collected pursuant to this section by the clerk of the court shall be remitted monthly to the Circuit Clerk’s Judicial Administrative Fund for the county in which the case has been filed.
(c) Upon compliance with the order of service by posting and mailing, a request for an order for a judgment of condemnation against the garnishee and condemnation of proceeds may be made upon the court by verified motion that all requirements of the order of service by posting and mailing have been accomplished. The movant shall attach to the verified motion a copy of the posting, along with a verified statement of the clerk of the court attesting to the contents of the posting, the dates of the website and courthouse postings, and the date of the mailing of the posted notice copy to the defendant.
(d) Unless otherwise authorized by law or rule, perfection of service by notice upon a defendant by posting and mailing shall have application to this section only.
(e) This section applies to any garnishment proceeding conducted under this chapter, Chapter 10, or the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure.
(f) Pursuant to Section 6.11 of Amendment 328 to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 150 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, the Supreme Court is hereby requested to modify its rules to conform to this section.
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