Opinion ID: 2981841
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Walk N Vision Case

Text: In 1988, Plaintiff partnered with former Kentucky Governor Julian Carroll (“Carroll”) to form Walk N Vision, Inc., a software company targeting video advertising at shopping mall customers. (Appellee Br. at 7.) The company was soon failing, and Carroll signed nine separate promissory notes guaranteeing Walk N Vision’s debt. (Id.) At Carroll’s demand, Colyer also signed a promissory note guaranteeing half of any debt incurred by Walk N Vision. (Id.) Colyer later moved away from Kentucky, leaving Carroll liable for the entirety of Walk N Vision’s corporate debt. (Id.) Walk N Vision failed four months later, leaving a total corporate debt of $158,782.56. (Id. at 8.) Carroll satisfied the entire debt using personal funds. (Id.) 1 The annuity was purchased from Travelers Life and Annuity Company, which was at that time a part of Travelers. Travelers Life and Annuity Company was later acquired by MetLife, and then merged into MetLife, along with Travelers Insurance Company. After the merger, the annuity became MetLife’s obligation. 4 In February 1993, Carroll sued Colyer in Franklin Circuit Court, Kentucky, seeking damages for half of Walk N Vision’s corporate debt. (Id. at 9.) After a bench trial, the Franklin Circuit Court entered judgment for Carroll, granting him $79,391.28 in damages, with interest. (Id.) Carroll subsequently filed for a writ of garnishment against Colyer’s annuity payments, and the Franklin Circuit Court issued a garnishment order for the same amount and served it on Travelers Life and Annuity Company on August 22, 1995. (Id.) The order required annuity payments of $1,000 to be made directly to Carroll. (Id. at 9–10.) Travelers Life and Annuity Company complied with the order. (Id. at 10.) The garnishment order included a legal notice sent to Colyer, as the judgment debtor, which stated that if any funds were exempt from garnishment, he was to “claim and prove any applicable exemption.” (Id.) Colyer did not challenge the garnishment order at the time. (Id.)