Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0213

ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING MI NORTH UNION AREA 110111. t34111•0 QFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL rig- 06Q/3 Lcc L. HALE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM M. SENORS. JR. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA JUN 1 ! 1579 WALTER,. TURNER CHIEF ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL JAMENOOLES ADMINI I V E ASSISTANT Honorable Jean Scott Circuit Clerk Twenty-Seventh Judicial Circuit P. 0. Drawer A Guntersville, Alabama 35976 Garnishment fee on cases filed prior to January 16, 1977, should be collected at the time the garnishment proceeding is initiated in accordance with Code of Alabama 1975, Section 12-19-75. Dear Mrs. Scott: I have received your request for an opinion from this office, which reads as follows: "There still exists a great deal of confusion among clerks of the Circuit Courts as to proper amounts of court costs since the effective date of the Judicial Article and implementing legislation. In order to clarify one such area of confusion, will you please give us an official opinion of the following question: "The Code of Alabama, Sec. 12-19-75(a) sets forth fees to be collected 'for the initiation of each of the following postjudgment proceedings: attachment, garnishment, and execution. The fee for such proceedings shall be paid at the time the proceeding is initiated. 1 Honorable Jean Scott Page Two "Section 12-19-22(b) states, 'In all cases filed prior to January 16, 1977 all fines, costs and fees shall be assessed and distributed according to law in existence on date of filings, including monies collected on or after January 16, 1977?' "Does the $9.00 garnishment fee required by Sec. 12-19-75 apply to the initiation of postjudgment-garnishment proceedings on those cases which were originally filed prior to January 16, 1977, or should such garnishment cost be assessed according to the date the original complaint was filed with the clerk? "Your early consideration of this question will be sincerely appreciated." It is my opinion that the garnishment fee established in Section 12-19-75 should be collected at the time the garnishment proceeding is initiated, as required by Section - 12-19-75. That section specifically states that the fee for a garnishment proceeding shall be paid at the time the proceeding is initiated. As you note in your request, Section 12-19-22 provides that in all cases filed prior to January 16, 1977, all fees shall be assessed and distributed according to the law in existence on the date of the filing, including monies collected after January 16, 1977. In view of Section 12-19- 75, I must conclude that Section 12-19-22 applies only to the original case filed, and not to the ancillary proceedings listed in Section 12-19-75. Therefore, the $9.00 fee should be collected when the garnishment proceeding is initiated. Sincerely, CHARLES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By- LINDA C. BRELAND Assistant Attorney General LCB:bb a