Court Opinion

ID: 9682071
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 08:05:04.651788+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:37.346044
License: Public Domain

EVANS, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I disagree with the holding of the majority opinion for the reasons stated in Barlow v. Lane, 745 S.W.2d 451 (Tex.App.—Waco 1988, writ denied); Salem v. American Bank of Commerce, 717 S.W.2d 948 (Tex.App.—El Paso 1986, no writ). As the majority acknowledges, both of these decisions directly contradict the majority’s holding in this case. Under the decisions enunciated by those cases, wages cease to be “current” within the meaning of Texas exemption laws, immediately upon being paid to and received by the wage earner. Barlow, 745 S.W.2d at 453; see also Sutherland v. Young, 292 S.W. 581 (Tex.Civ.App.—Waco 1927, no writ); Lee v. Emerson-Brantingham Implement Co., 222 S.W. 283 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1920, no writ); Smith v. Bradshaw, 105 S.W.2d 340 (Tex.Civ.App. — Dallas), affd, 130 Tex. 180, 108 S.W.2d 200 (1937). In my opinion, the decisions in Barlow and Salem, that wages are no longer current when the employee receives a paycheck from the employer, control the disposition of the instant case.
I do not quarrel with the majority’s statement that the purpose of current wages being exempt from garnishment and execution is to protect the employee’s ability to pay current living expenses. Barlow, 745 S.W.2d at 454; Bell v. Indian Live-Stock Co., 11 S.W. 344, 346 (Tex.1889). But I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the court’s turnover order will “weaken and destroy our constitutional guarantee and render such protection useless.”
As the court stated in Barlow, the specific relief to be granted in a turnover order is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court. Barlow, 745 S.W.2d at 453. Thus, the court may appropriately take into consideration the debtor’s needs with respect to food, clothing, shelter, and other such necessities. Id. at 454. According to the particular circumstance of each case, the court may fashion its order to assure that the debtor-employee will have sufficient funds to meet current living expenses.
In this case, the appellant does not contend that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the relief set forth in the turnover order. The appellant contends only that the turnover order violates specific constitutional and statutory provisions. Therefore, the question of whether the order was appropriate under the circumstances, was not presented to us for review.
I would overrule all three points of error and affirm the trial court’s order.