CHAPTER 613

An Act to amend and reenact § 84-82 of the Code of Virginia, relating
to the garnishment of wages.
[H 848]

Approved April 6, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1 That § 34-32 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted as
follows:

§ 34-32. No person shall institute or permit to be instituted pro-
ceedings in his own name or in the name of any other person or shall
assign or transfer, either for or without value, any claim for debt or
liability of any kind held by him against a resident of this State who is
a laboring man and a householder for the purpose of having payment of
the same or any part thereof enforced out of the wages exempted by
§ 34-29 by proceedings in attachment or garnishment in courts or before
justices of the peace or other trial justices in any other state than this
State, or to send out of this State by assignment, transfer or in any other
manner whatsoever, either for or without value, any claim or debt
against any resident thereof for the purpose or with the intent of depriving
such person of the right to have his wages exempt from distress, levy
or garnishment according to the provisions of § 34-29. And the person
instituting such suit or permitting such suit to be instituted or sending,
assigning. or transferring any such claim or debt for the purpose or
with the intent aforesaid shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less
than ten nor more than one hundred dollars and shall, in addition thereto,
be civilly liable * to the person from whom payment of the same, or any
part thereof, shall have been enforced by attachment or garnishment or
otherwise, elsewhere than in this State, for the full amount, payment
whereof shall have been so enforced, together with interest thereon and
the costs of the attachment or garnishee proceedings, as well as the costs
of such action.

The amount recovered in such action shall stand on the same footing
with the wages of the plaintiff under § 34-29 and shall be exempt and
free from any and all liability of the plaintiff to the defendant in the
way of setoff or otherwise.

The fact that the payment of a claim or debt against any person
entitled to the exemption provided for in § 34-29 has been enforced by
legal proceedings in some state other than this State in such manner as
to deprive such person to any extent of the benefit of such exemption
shall be prima facie evidence that any resident of this State who may at
any time have been owner or holder of the claim or debt has violated
this section.