Knell v. Knell

Summary

The Wyoming Supreme Court held that a child-support obligation enforced through voluntary payroll deductions must be treated as a garnishment when calculating statutory limits on garnishments. Because the child-support deduction consumed approximately 42% of the debtor's disposable earnings, an additional creditor garnishment for a property-settlement judgment was impermissible. The court reversed the district court's order enforcing the additional garnishment.

Holdings

1. For purposes of calculating the limits on individual garnishments, a child-support order that results in payroll deductions is treated as a garnishment even when the employer's withholding is voluntary and no separate income-withholding order has been entered.
2. A creditor judgment garnishment may be imposed only to the extent that support garnishments do not exceed the general 25% limit. Because Bruce Knell's child-support withholding was approximately 42% of his disposable earnings, the additional garnishment for the property-settlement debt was impermissible.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a child-support obligation satisfied through voluntary payroll deductions constitutes a garnishment for purposes of calculating the statutory limits on garnishment of disposable earnings.
2. Whether an additional creditor garnishment may be imposed when the child-support obligation already exceeds 25% of the judgment debtor's disposable earnings.

Disposition

reversed