How to Collect Your
Judgement by Garnishee

 At the end of a court hearing, you will receive a court judgment. The judgment can be from the Provincial Court, Civil (also known as Small Claims Court), the Court of Queen’s Bench or Employment Standards. Upon receiving the judgment, make at least three copies and distribute them in the following way;

• File one copy with the Court of Queen’s Bench;
  • If you have obtained your judgment from a Provincial Court office that is not located in a Queen’s Bench Judicial Centre, the Clerk’s office will allow you to file your judgement by fax if you pay the required fee in advance.
• Serve one copy on the other party, or parties;
• Keep one copy for your file.

When you file your judgment at the Court of Queen’s Bench, the clerk will stamp all the copies, register the judgment, and provide you with a Court of Queen’s Bench file number.

Once you receive the action number, you will then need to send a Demand Letter to the other party (the debtor). A Demand Letter is a letter informing the other party that they owe you money for a specific reason, and requesting that they pay you by a specific date.

In this case, you will note that you have a judgment against the debtor, and request that they pay you the amount provided in the judgment. If the debtor complies with your request and pays you, there is no need to resort to garnishment, and the process stops here.

 If the debtor does not respond to the Demand Letter, then you must file a Writ of Enforcement. The Writ of Enforcement forms are available online at the Alberta Courts website (https://www.albertacourts.ca/qb/areas-of-law/civil/forms). Use the same Court of Queen’s Bench file number on the Writ of Enforcement. This notifies other creditors that you have a claim against the debtor, and that the debtor owes you money.

Use one copy of this Writ of Enforcement as a draft and take it to a Clerk at the Court of Queen’s Bench to be sure it is filled out correctly. Once you know it is correct,  make at least four copies of the Writ of Enforcement. File all the copies with the Clerk of the Court of Queen’s Bench. They should be distributed in the following way:

• The Clerk will retain one copy (the others will be returned to you);
• Register one copy at the Personal Property Registry;
• Register one copy at the Land Titles Office (if applicable); and
• Keep one copy for your file.

When you have a judgment against a debtor, you are considered a creditor. Registration at the Personal Property Registry and the Land Titles Office will serve as notice to other creditors that you have a claim against the debtor.

It is also your responsibility to register a Status Report at the Personal Property Registry every two years in order to keep it active. This must be done prior to the Writ of Enforcement expiring. This Status Report will detail the judgment amount that is still owed to you. Importantly, you are also required to register a Status Report whenever you receive payment from the debtor outside of the garnishment process – as this payment will reduce the total amount that the debtor owes you.

 A “garnishee” is a third party that would be giving money to the debtor. For example, a garnishee may be an employer, a bank, or other third party. A Garnishee Summons notifies the garnishee that they should pay the amount of the judgment directly to you rather than to the debtor.

A Garnishee Summons form can be found on the Alberta Courts website (https://www.albertacourts.ca/qb/areas-of-law/civil/forms). When filling out the form, provide the same information contained in the judgment, described above. The Garnishee Summons must include the following items:

• A Supporting Affidavit – this Affidavit must be sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths. This can be done at the Office of the Clerk when you file your Garnishee Summons.
• A copy of the search that must be done at the Personal Property Registry to see if other Writs are registered against the debtor and the amount of those other Writs.
• The value of all other registered Writs against the debtor.
• The amount that the debtor owes to you, the creditor.
• Any other costs incurred by you in the course of obtaining this judgment – such as search costs within the Personal Property Registry, or Land Titles Offices.
• A total amount that the debtor owes you – this would be the amount listed in the judgment from step (4), plus the costs of any searches or services noted in step (5).

Use one copy as a rough draft and take it to a Clerk at the Court of Queen’s Bench to ensure that it is filled out properly. Once you know that it is correct, make at least five copies of the Garnishee Summons. File all of the copies with the Court of Queen’s Bench. They should be distributed in the following way:

• The Clerk will retain one copy (the other copies will be returned to you);
• Keep one copy for your file; and
• Three copies are to be served on the garnishee.

A $25.00 administration fee must be paid to the garnishee along with the Garnishee Summons at the time of service.

Serving a garnishee with a Garnishee Summons may differ depending on if the garnishee is an individual, or a corporation. For individuals, a Garnishee Summons may be served through personal service, or through recorded mail addressed to the individual’s personal or business address (where applicable). For corporate garnishee’s, the creditor must serve an officer or director of the corporation. Alternatively, one can serve another person with authority within the corporation, or serve the corporation via recorded mail to their registered corporate office.

In most cases, the Garnishee Summons is effective for two years. A Garnishee Summons can be renewed after it expires if necessary. If only a portion of the debt is paid to Court, the garnishee must continue to garnish and pay future amounts to Court for two years or until the debt is satisfied.