Oregon Statutes 18.999 – Recovery of amounts related to attempts to recover debt or enforce judgment
This section establishes the right of a plaintiff to recover amounts related to a plaintiff’s attempts to recover a debt under ORS § 18.854 or to enforce a judgment and establishes procedures for that recovery. The following apply to this section:
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 18.999
- Action: means any proceeding commenced in a court in which the court may render a judgment. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- County court: includes board of county commissioners. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Execution: means enforcement of the money award portion of a judgment or enforcement of a judgment requiring delivery of the possession or sale of specific real or personal property, by means of writs of execution, writs of garnishment and other statutory or common law writs or remedies that may be available under the law. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
- 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
- Judgment: means the concluding decision of a court on one or more requests for relief in one or more actions, as reflected in a judgment document. See Oregon Statutes 18.005
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(1) When a plaintiff receives moneys under a garnishment, attachment or payment, the plaintiff may proceed as follows:
(a) Before crediting the total amount of moneys received against the judgment or debt, the plaintiff may recover and keep from the total amount received under the garnishment, attachment or payment any moneys allowed to be recovered under this section.
(b) After recovering moneys as allowed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the plaintiff shall credit the remainder of the moneys received against the judgment or debt as provided by law.
(2) Moneys recovered under subsection (1)(a) of this section shall not be considered moneys paid on and to be credited against the original judgment or debt sought to be enforced. No additional judgment is necessary to recover moneys in the manner provided in subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(3) The only moneys a plaintiff may recover under subsection (1)(a) of this section are those described in subsection (4) of this section that arise out of the enforcement of the existing specific judgment or debt that the specific garnishment or attachment was issued to enforce or upon which the payment was received. Moneys recoverable under subsection (1)(a) of this section remain recoverable and, except as provided under subsection (8) of this section, may be recovered from moneys received by the plaintiff under subsequent garnishments, attachments or payments on the same specific judgment or debt.
(4) This section allows the recovery only of the following:
(a) Statutorily established moneys that meet the requirements under subsection (3) of this section, as follows:
(A) Garnishee’s search fees under ORS § 18.790.
(B) Fees for delivery of writs of garnishment under ORS § 18.652.
(C) Circuit court fees as provided under ORS § 21.235 and 21.258.
(D) County court fees as provided under ORS § 5.125.
(E) County clerk recording fees as provided in ORS § 205.320.
(F) Actual fees or disbursements made under ORS § 21.300.
(G) Costs of execution as provided in ORS § 105.112.
(H) An issuance fee in the amount of $47 for each writ issued by an attorney under ORS § 18.635 (3).
(I) Costs of an execution sale as described in ORS § 18.950 (2).
(J) Fees paid under ORS § 21.200 for motions and responses to motions filed after entry of a judgment.
(K) Amounts paid to a sheriff for the fees and expenses of executing a warrant under ORS § 105.510.
(b) Interest on the amounts specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection at the rate provided for judgments in ORS § 82.010 for the period of time beginning with the expenditure of the amount and ending upon recovery of the amount under this section.
(5) The plaintiff shall be responsible for doing all of the following:
(a) Maintaining a precise accounting of moneys recovered under subsection (1)(a) of this section and making the accounting available for any proceeding relating to that judgment or debt.
(b) Providing reasonable notice to the defendant of moneys the plaintiff recovers under subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(6) Moneys recovered under subsection (1)(a) of this section remain subject to all other provisions of law relating to payments, or garnished or attached moneys including, but not limited to, those relating to exemption, claim of exemption, overpayment and holding periods.
(7) Nothing in this section limits the right of a plaintiff to recover moneys described in this section or other moneys in any manner otherwise allowed by law.
(8) A writ of garnishment or attachment is not valid if issued solely to recover moneys recoverable under subsection (1)(a) of this section unless the right to collect the moneys is first reduced to a judgment or to a debt enforceable under ORS § 18.854. [Formerly 18.910; 2007 c.860 11,31; 2009 c.659 5,7; 2011 c.366 3,4; 2011 c.595 § 115; 2013 c.685 § 39; 2017 c.644 § 8; 2017 c.663 § 19; 2018 c.98 § 10; 2019 c.605 § 19]
18.999 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS Chapter 18 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.