Castro v. Mercantil Commercebank, N.A.
A guarantor whose guaranty contained a capitalized clause stating he 'consents to the attachment or garnishment of his/her/its earnings' sought to dissolve a continuing writ of garnishment by invoking the section 222.11 head-of-family exemption. The Third DCA affirmed, holding the unlimited, unambiguous consent clause satisfied section 222.11(2)(b)'s requirement that the debtor 'agree otherwise in writing,' thereby waiving the exemption as to disposable earnings over $500 per week. The court also rejected application of the later-amended version of the statute, relying on the guaranty's clause preserving obligations against future laws and the constitutional prohibition on impairment of contracts.
Key facts
- Guarantor executed a continuing guaranty with a capitalized clause consenting to attachment and garnishment of his earnings, which was used to enforce a judgment debt owed to Mercantil Commercebank.
- The trial court issued and continued a writ of garnishment against the guarantor's wages, and the guarantor sought to dissolve it by invoking the head-of-family exemption under section 222.11.
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Why it matters
The Third DCA aligns with the Second DCA (Klepal) and First DCA (Hart) in holding that a general 'consent to garnishment of earnings' clause in a guaranty waives the head-of-family wage exemption, giving commercial… — full analysis with a trial
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