Dennis Garner, Appellant (plaintiff) v. Gregory S. Kempf and Clerk of Vanderburgh County (garnishee), Appellees…

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that a civil judgment creditor may garnish a cash bail bond posted by the judgment debtor in an unrelated criminal matter when the bond is held by a court clerk. Service of the garnishment proceedings creates an equitable lien, and the clerk must preserve the bond until the civil court determines the creditor’s rights, although the funds cannot be recovered until the criminal court has ordered the bond released. Because the clerk released the bond after receiving notice of the garnishment, the court reversed and remanded for judgment against her. Justice David, joined by Chief Justice Rush, dissented, arguing that bail bonds are not garnishable absent express statutory authorization and that the clerk should not be liable for following the criminal court’s release order.