Metro Atlanta counties swamped by garnishment filings

As if anyone needed another sign of the slumping economy: creditors are filing so many garnishments in Georgia’s largest counties that payouts are being delayed.

By far the biggest problems are found in Fulton County, which is on pace for a record of nearly 30,000 cases filed this year. Filings have been rising about 15 percent for each of the past five years.

Similar increases are being reported in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.

“It’s just so sad,” said Tom Lawler, clerk for Gwinnett. “People who are normally able to pay their bills are not doing so. This is one of the things we don’t like doing.”

Mark Harper, Fulton state court clerk, said the county has fallen so far behind on processing claims that payouts required by state law to be made within 16 days are now routinely handed out in eight weeks or more. Cases with complications can wait up to a year before they are resolved and payments begin, he said.

“The bottom line is we have a record number of garnishments,” Harper said. “We struggled along trying to keep up as the numbers increased. But we crossed the threshold in 2007. We’ve been falling behind since then.”

In Cobb County, State Court Clerk Diane Webb is projecting more than 9,200 cases in 2008, up about 20 percent over last year. The county is about four days behind on making payments.

“We are not perfect, but we are close to getting things paid out on time,” she said.

Charlotte Bailey, chief deputy State Court Clerk in DeKalb, said she expects her county’s garnishment caseload to jump about 16 percent this year to 8,500 cases. Still, she said DeKalb is making its payouts on a timely basis.

“When that 16th day comes along, we issue the check,” Bailey said.

Lawler said the numbers in Gwinnett have also been rising rapidly. He created a special team of 11 staffers just to deal with the rising number of garnishments. Still, Gwinnett is running as many as 10 days late making payments, he said.

Fulton County records show the number of garnishments filed have been increasing annually by about 15 percent each of the past five years. Fulton’s on course for a record number again at year’s end.

At the same time, Fulton’s already posted record numbers in June and July with about 2,700 filings each month.

Lawyers who work in the field say staff are overwhelmed and delays in processing cases have become intolerable. Several lawyers approached Fulton commissioners earlier this month, urging the county to hire more clerks to process cases.

David Kleber, a Decatur-based debt-collection lawyer, said delays processing garnishments hurt both creditors and debtors.

The creditors, Kleber said, aren’t getting their money in a timely basis. And debtors are not getting credit for the payments they’ve made. Meanwhile, interest is accruing on the original debt until it’s paid.

Kleber said while many counties are struggling to keep up “Fulton is by far the worst.”

“I don’t think it’s for lack of trying,” Kleber said. “There’s just more work than the people are able to do.”

Kleber said his firm represents banks, car dealers, credit card companies and retailers. The amount of work, he said, typically tracks the economy.

Several lawyers said all the counties should expect more work over the next year or so because garnishments often appear 18 months or more behind when the debt was incurred.

“Folks are getting squeezed to where they can’t pay their bills,” Kleber said.

The problems in Fulton run the gamut from processing the claims to depositing the cash from debtors’ employers to disbursing the money to creditors. Any interest that accrues while cash sits in the county account flows to the Fulton Indigent Defense Fund.

“We are looking for ways to avoid using Fulton County,” said Atlanta lawyer John Swann. “If we can file it somewhere else, we are doing it.”

Harper had requested five new full-time staffers at a cost of $250,000. Other clerks said they’ve made similar requests.

There may soon be some improvement at least in Fulton.

Fulton County Manager Zachary Williams said he instead will allow Harper to hire three temporary, full-time staffers by using salary savings from other positions inside the office.

“I’m not disputing the need,” Williams said. “I would not be proposing anything if I didn’t think this was a legitimate need. I’d just like to see what we can get done with 40 hours a week without paying benefits.”

Harper said he wasn’t sure how much the temporary help will cost yet or if they will be able to help Fulton catch up and comply with state law.

“I certainly think it will help,” Harper said. “We’ll have to see if it is enough.”