## Facts

- A judgment creditor obtained a final money judgment against a debtor for $48,473.50.
- The creditor sought collection by writ of garnishment served on the debtor’s bank.
- The debtor maintained two accounts at the bank; the debtor had signatory authority on both, including sole signatory authority on an account titled “Diamond M.”
- The bank filed timely answers to two substantially similar writs but failed to disclose the “Diamond M” account due to an internal account-search error.
- Between service of the first writ and the bank’s amended answer disclosing the omitted account, approximately $13,870.61 was deposited into and withdrawn from the “Diamond M” account; when disclosed, the balance was about $65.63.
- After a nonjury trial, the circuit court entered judgment against the bank for the full amount of funds that passed through the omitted account during the relevant period.
- The bank appealed, contesting the extent of garnishee liability under § 77.06(1), Florida Statutes (1983).

## Issues

1. Under § 77.06(1), whether a garnishee bank that files an incomplete answer omitting a debtor’s account is liable for all funds deposited into that omitted account from service of the writ until the bank files a complete amended answer.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the garnishment judgment against the bank.
- The court held that § 77.06(1) imposes continuing liability from service of the writ until the filing of a complete answer.
- Because the bank’s original answers omitted an account that should have been disclosed, the bank was liable for all monies deposited into the omitted account between service of the writ and the amended, complete answer.
- The bank’s liability was not limited to the account balance at service of the writ or at the time of the original answers.

## Legal Principles

- Garnishment is statutory and requires compliance with the governing statute.
- Under § 77.06(1), service of a writ fixes a garnishee’s liability for the debtor’s debts and property in the garnishee’s possession or control from service until the garnishee files its answer.
- A garnishee has a duty to provide a complete disclosure in its answer of all covered debts and property; an answer omitting an account is incomplete even if the omission is inadvertent.
- When a covered account is omitted, garnishee liability extends to funds deposited into that omitted account during the period between service of the writ and the filing of a complete amended answer, to prevent dissipation of assets and to preserve the effectiveness of garnishment.

## Conclusion

The court held that a bank served with a writ of garnishment that omits a debtor’s account from its answer remains liable under § 77.06(1) for all funds deposited into the omitted account from the time of service until the bank files a complete amended answer disclosing the account, and it affirmed judgment for the full amount that flowed through the omitted account during that period.


Dixie Nat’l Bank of Dade Cnty. v. Chase, 485 So. 2d 1353 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3d Dist. 1986)