Terms Used In Alabama Code 6-6-457

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.

If the garnishee fails to appear and answer, a conditional judgment must be entered against him for the amount of the plaintiff‘s claim, as ascertained by his judgment, to be made absolute unless he appears within 30 days after notice of the conditional judgment issued by the clerk, to be served on him, as other process, by the sheriff. If he fails to appear within the time required by the notice served upon him or if two notices are returned “not found” by the sheriff of the county in which the garnishment was executed, the judgment must be made absolute.