2014 Indiana Code TITLE 34. CIVIL LAW AND PROCEDURE ARTICLE 55. EXECUTION OF JUDGMENTS CHAPTER 8. PROCEEDINGS SUPPLEMENTARY TO EXECUTION
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IC 34-55-8
Chapter 8. Proceedings Supplementary to Execution
IC 34-55-8-1
Unsatisfied execution; order requiring judgment debtor to appear
Sec. 1. If an execution against the property of the judgment debtor
or any of several debtors in the same judgment is returned
unsatisfied, in whole or in part, the judgment creditor, after the return
is made, is entitled to an order to be issued by any circuit, superior,
or city court in the jurisdiction to which the execution issued that
requires the judgment debtor to appear before the court to answer
concerning the judgment debtor's property, income, and profits within
the county to which the execution was issued.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-2
Refusal of judgment debtor to apply assets to judgment; order
requiring
Sec. 2. (a) If, after the issuing of an execution against property, the
execution plaintiff or other person on the execution plaintiff's behalf
makes and files with the clerk of any court of record of any city,
county, or township an affidavit:
(1) stating to the effect that a judgment debtor, residing in the
territorial jurisdiction of the court, has property, income, or
profits that the judgment debtor unjustly refuses to apply toward
the satisfaction of the judgment; and
(2) describing the property, income, or profits;
the court shall issue a subpoena requiring the judgment debtor to
appear immediately before the court, at a specified time and place, to
answer concerning the affidavit.
(b) Proceedings described in subsection (a) may subsequently be
held for the application of the property, income, or profits of the
judgment debtor toward the satisfaction of the judgment as provided
upon the return of an execution.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-3
Arrest of debtor authorized
Sec. 3. When the plaintiff or the plaintiff's agent or attorney, at the
time of applying for the order or at any time afterwards, makes and
files an affidavit with the court, stating that:
(1) there is danger of the debtor leaving the state or concealing
himself or herself; and
(2) there is reason to believe the debtor has property, rights,
credits, moneys, or effects that the debtor unjustly refuses to
apply to the judgment, with intent to defraud the creditor;
the court shall issue to the sheriff of the county an order of arrest and
bail.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-4
Arrest of debtor; bond
Sec. 4. The sheriff, after taking the execution debtor into custody
upon the order of arrest, shall require the execution debtor to enter
into a written undertaking to the plaintiff, with surety, to be approved
by the officer, that:
(1) the execution debtor will attend before the court and obey
the order made by the court; and
(2) the execution debtor will not, in the meantime, dispose of
any part of the execution debtor's property that is not exempt
from execution.
If the execution debtor defaults on the written undertaking, the
execution debtor shall be committed to prison. Upon breach of the
written undertaking, the plaintiff is entitled to the amount of the value
of the property unlawfully withheld or disposed of.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-5
Third parties; when required to appear
Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c):
(1) after the issuing or return of an execution against the
property of the judgment debtor or any one (1) of the several
debtors in the same judgment; and
(2) upon an affidavit that any person, corporation (municipal or
otherwise), the state, or any subdivision or agency of the state:
(A) has property of the judgment debtor; or
(B) is or will be periodically indebted to the judgment debtor
in any amount (although the amount shall be determined
periodically as it becomes due and payable, which together
with other property claimed by the judgment debtor as
exempt from execution, exceeds the amount of property
exempt by law);
such person, corporation, any member of the corporation, the
auditor of state, or auditing officer of the municipal
corporations, subdivisions, or agencies of the state may be
required to appear and answer concerning the affidavit, as
provided by this chapter.
(b) The persons described in this section shall not be required to
appear personally in court unless the judge of the court orders their
personal appearance.
(c) The court may order interrogatories to be submitted and the
interrogatories to be answered by the persons described in subsection
(a). The interrogatories shall be submitted by the parties. The clerk of
the court shall transmit by registered mail a copy of:
(1) the interrogatories, with blanks for answer; and
(2) the order of the court ordering the interrogatories answered;
to the person, corporation, member of the corporation, the auditor of
state, or the auditing officer of the municipal corporations,
subdivisions, or agencies of the state required to answer the
interrogatories. On receipt of the interrogatories and order, the
person, corporation, member of the corporation, auditor of state, or
the auditing officer of the municipal corporations, subdivisions, or
agencies of the state shall answer the interrogatories and return the
interrogatories to the clerk by registered mail or personally. The court
may compel answers to the interrogatories.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-6
Witnesses
Sec. 6. (a) Witnesses may be required to appear and testify in the
proceeding provided for in this chapter.
(b) Either party may examine the other as a witness in the same
manner as upon the trial of an issue, or the plaintiff may waive the
answer of the debtor and rely upon other testimony.
(c) All examinations and answers under this section shall be made
on the oath of the party. However, when a corporation answers, the
answers shall be on the oath of an officer of the corporation.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-7
Order requiring application of property to debt and forbidding
transfer; liens; order for placing hold on deposit account; hearing;
order releasing hold
Sec. 7. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), after a hearing of
which the judgment debtor has been notified, the court may order:
(1) any property, income, or profits of the judgment debtor not
exempt from execution or process, in the hands either of the
judgment debtor or of any other person; or
(2) any debt due to the judgment debtor;
to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment and forbid transfers
of property and choses in action.
(b) If the judgment debtor has failed to comply with an agreed
order in the action, after a hearing of which the judgment debtor has
been notified, the court shall order:
(1) any property, income, or profits of the judgment debtor not
exempt from execution or process, in the hands either of the
judgment debtor or of any other person; or
(2) any debt due to the judgment debtor;
to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment and forbid transfers
of property and choses in action.
(c) The judge shall order that:
(1) the judgment or execution is a continuing lien upon the
income or profits of the judgment debtor in the hands either of
the judgment debtor or any other person, governmental officer,
or corporation from the date the order is served upon the person,
governmental officer, or corporation indebted to the judgment
debtor to the extent that the lien, together with all similar liens,
is permitted under IC 24-4.5-5-105; and
(2) the court may enforce all orders and decrees in the premises,
by attachment or otherwise.
(d) A court in an action for proceedings supplementary to
execution shall issue an order directing a depository financial
institution (as defined in IC 28-9-2) to place a hold on a deposit
account in which the judgment debtor has an interest, either
individually or jointly with another person, whenever the conditions
prescribed under IC 28-9-3-4(d)(1) through IC 28-9-3-4(d)(3) are
met. An order issued under this subsection:
(1) is subject to the limitations as to duration of the restriction
and the amount to be restricted as specified under IC 28-9-4-2;
and
(2) may be terminated or modified to reflect valid exemptions
of a depositor that the court has considered.
(e) If an order for the placing of a hold on a deposit account is
issued under subsection (d), a person whose deposit account is
affected may request a hearing from the court on the matter of:
(1) the person's right to claim certain funds in the person's
deposit account as exempt from garnishment; and
(2) whether the hold should be removed by the court.
(f) If a court receives a request for a hearing under subsection (e),
the court shall hold a hearing on the matter within five (5) days
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the court
receives the request.
(g) If a person whose deposit account is affected by the order
issued under subsection (d) files an affidavit with the court stating
that the funds in the account are exempt from garnishment, the court
may issue an order releasing the hold on the account without first
conducting a hearing.
(h) If a court has issued a garnishment order to a third party and
the garnishment order no longer applies to the third party due to a
change in circumstances, the court may cancel the garnishment order
and issue a new garnishment order to an appropriate third party, if all
of the following conditions are met:
(1) The court has issued a garnishment order under subsection
(a) or (b) with respect to a judgment debtor's income or profits
in the hands of a third party.
(2) The judgment constitutes a continuing lien under subsection
(c).
(3) Due to a change in circumstances, including a change of
employment, the judgment debtor's income or profits are in the
hands of a new third party not named in the garnishment order.
(4) The judgment creditor files a petition:
(A) notifying the court of the matters described in
subdivisions (1) through (3); and
(B) informing the court of the name, address, and other
relevant information concerning the new third party holding
the judgment debtor's income and profits.
A court may issue a new garnishment order under this subsection
without holding a hearing.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51. Amended by P.L.1-1999, SEC.76;
P.L.78-2014, SEC.22.
IC 34-55-8-8
Cost of proceedings
Sec. 8. Costs shall be awarded and taxed in a proceeding under
this chapter as in other cases.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
IC 34-55-8-9
Proceedings to be summary
Sec. 9. All proceedings under this chapter, after the order has been
made requiring parties to appear and answer, shall be summary,
without further pleadings, upon the oral examination and testimony
of parties and witnesses. However, the sufficiency of the order and of
the affidavit first filed by the plaintiff may be tested by:
(1) demurrer;
(2) motion to dismiss; or
(3) motion to strike.
As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.51.
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