Senate Bill No. 504
(By Senator Oliverio)
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[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article five-a, chapter
thirty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section one, article eight of said chapter, all relating to
allowing review of a judgment debtor's exemption claims.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article five-a, chapter thirty-eight of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section one,
article eight of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 5A. SUGGESTIONS OF SALARY AND WAGES.
§38-5A-9. Exemptions.
A judgment debtor to whom money is due or to become due
which would otherwise be subject to suggestion under this article
may have the same exempted from levy in the manner and to the
extent provided for by article eight of this chapter. The
exemption may be claimed for sums currently accruing but must be
asserted anew as to any salary or wages which shall begin to
accrue after the next payment date. Such The exemption shall is
not be binding upon a suggestee unless and until a certificate of
exemption or true copy thereof shall have has been delivered to
him the suggestee.
Upon motion by the plaintiff, the court shall review the
certificate of exemption filed by the debtor to determine whether
the necessary information is contained within and to evaluate the
accuracy of the valuation of the exemptions claimed. The court
shall require the debtor to provide any necessary information
that has been omitted from the certificate. If, in the opinion
of the court, any exemption is substantially undervalued, it
shall require an appraisal of the exemption. If the appraisal
confirms the opinion of the court, a revised certificate of
exemption shall be filed with the court based on the appraised value and the debtor is liable for the costs of the appraisal.
If the appraisal confirms the valuation contained in the
certificate of exemption, the certificate of exemption shall
stand as filed and the plaintiff is liable for the costs of
appraisal.
ARTICLE 8. EXEMPTIONS FROM LEVY.
§38-8-1. Exemptions of personal property.
Any husband, wife, parent or other head of a household
residing in this state, or the infant children of deceased
parents, may set apart and hold personal property not exceeding
one thousand dollars in value to be exempt from execution or
other process, except as hereinafter provided. Any mechanic,
artisan or laborer residing in this state, whether he or she be
a husband, wife, parent or other head of a household, or not, may
hold the working tools of his or her trade or occupation to the
value of fifty dollars exempt from forced sale or execution:
Provided, That in no case shall may the exemption allowed any one
person exceed one thousand dollars.
Upon motion by the plaintiff, the court shall review the
certificate of exemption filed by the debtor to determine whether
the necessary information is contained within and to evaluate the accuracy of the valuation of the exemptions claimed. The court
shall require the debtor to provide any necessary information
that has been omitted from the certificate. If, in the opinion
of the court, any exemption is substantially undervalued, it
shall require an appraisal of the exemption. If the appraisal
confirms the opinion of the court, a revised certificate of
exemption shall be filed with the court based on the appraised
value and the debtor is liable for the costs of the appraisal.
If the appraisal confirms the valuation contained in the
certificate of exemption, the certificate of exemption shall
stand as filed and the plaintiff is liable for the costs of
appraisal.
NOTE: This bill would allow review of a judgment debtor's
exemption claims by the court with which the certificate of
exemption is filed.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.