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Florida Statute 77.04 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 77.04 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Link to State of Florida Official Statute
F.S. 77.04 Case Law from Google Scholar Google Search for Amendments to 77.04

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Chapter 77
GARNISHMENT
View Entire Chapter
77.04 Writ; form.The writ shall require the garnishee to serve an answer on the plaintiff within 20 days after service of the writ stating whether the garnishee is indebted to the defendant at the time of the answer, or was indebted at the time of service of the writ, plus up to 1 business day for the garnishee to act expeditiously on the writ, or at any time between such times; in what sum and what tangible or intangible personal property of defendant the garnishee has in his or her possession or control at the time of his or her answer, or had at the time of the service of the writ, or at any time between such times; and whether the garnishee knows of any other person indebted to defendant, or who may have any of the property of defendant in his or her possession or control. The writ shall state the amount named in plaintiff’s motion. If the garnishee is a business entity, an authorized employee or agent of the entity may execute, file, and serve the answer on behalf of the entity.
History.s. 1, ch. 43, 1845; RS 1668; s. 1, ch. 4393, 1895; GS 2132; RGS 3434; CGL 5287; s. 11, ch. 28301, 1953; s. 27, ch. 67-254; s. 385, ch. 95-147; s. 14, ch. 2005-241; s. 1, ch. 2013-233.

F.S. 77.04 on Google Scholar

F.S. 77.04 on CourtListener

Amendments to 77.04


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 77.04

Total Results: 22  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Arnold, Matheny, Pa v. First Am. Holdings, 982 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 2008).

Cited 19 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 33 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 268, 2008 Fla. LEXIS 755, 2008 WL 1901686

...nswer, or had at the time of the service of the writ, or at any time between such times; and whether the garnishee knows of any other person indebted to defendant, or who may have any of the property of defendant in his or her possession or control. § 77.04, Fla....
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United Presidential Life Ins. v. King, 361 So. 2d 710 (Fla. 1978).

Cited 15 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida

...The insurer may change the designation at any time by a new filing. (3) Service of process upon the insurance commissioner and treasurer as the insurer's attorney pursuant to such an appointment shall be the sole method of service of process upon an authorized domestic, foreign or alien insurer in this state. [3] Section 77.04, Fla....
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Brown v. Liberty Loan Corp. of Duval, 392 F. Supp. 1023 (M.D. Fla. 1974).

Cited 12 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11893

...ng and dissolution of the writ "unless the plaintiff proves the grounds upon which the writ was issued"; whereas in this case, it appears from the statute that a hearing may not be provided the debtor until after 20 days after the writ issues. Under Section 77.04 of the Florida statutes, [10] the garnishee does not have to file an answer to the petition for the writ until 20 days after service....
...The Court's decision today withdraws significantly from the full reach of that principle, and to this extent I think it fair to say that the Fuentes opinion is overruled. 416 U.S. 600, 94 S.Ct. at 1908, 40 L.Ed.2d at 423. [10] That section provides as follows: 77.04 Writ; form The writ shall require the garnishee to serve an answer to it on plaintiff within twenty (20) days after service stating whether he is indebted to defendant at the time of the answer, or was indebted at the time of service of the wri...
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Gieger v. Sun 1st Nat. Bank of Orlando, 427 So. 2d 815 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983).

Cited 11 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal

...This rule has never been changed in this jurisdiction. The trial court was thus in error in ordering garnishment of future payments not due at the time the answer to the writ of garnishment was filed, or at the time the writ was served, or at any time between such times. See section 77.04, Florida Statutes (1981)....
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Reeves v. Don L. Tullis & Assocs., 305 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975).

Cited 9 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1975 Fla. App. LEXIS 14783

...This appeal resulted. The proper procedure for resolving issues incident to garnishment proceedings is set forth in Chapter 77 Florida Statutes. F.S. § 77.03 provides for the issuance of a writ of garnishment at the behest of a judgment holder. F.S. § 77.04 prescribes the form of the writ and a model is set forth as Form 1.907 pursuant to Rule 1.900 RCP....
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Crocker Inv. v. Statesman L. Ins., 515 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987).

Cited 7 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...NOTES [1] This default was entered prematurely. The twentieth day after September 29 was October 19, 1986, which fell on a Sunday. Statesman, therefore, had until the close of business on Monday, October 20, 1986 to answer Crocker's writ of garnishment. § 77.04 Fla....
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Elvine v. Pub. Fin. Co., 196 So. 2d 25 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1967).

Cited 7 times | Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

...The affidavit for garnishment after judgment was filed May 19, 1966, and the writ served May 20th. The garnishee responded with a letter to the Clerk denying the existence of any indebtedness to Elvine. Appellee moved for the entry of a default *26 upon the ground that no answer under oath, as required by § 77.04 Fla....
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Carpenter v. Benson, 478 So. 2d 353 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2115

...Chatelier's Plant Food Company, Inc., 350 So.2d 548 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977), the court arrived at a similar result without addressing the due process issue except by footnote reference. There, the writ served on the garnishee was substantially in the form required by section 77.04 and required the garnishee to respond as to whether or not he was indebted or held any property belonging to the judgment *356 debtors....
...Here, it would have been patently inequitable to enforce a judgment for $32,500 against a garnishee whose only obligation here was the $299.74 erroneously paid to the defendant after the service of the writ of garnishment. AFFIRMED. COBB, C.J., and COWART, J., concur. NOTES [1] Section 77.04 provides: Writ; form....
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Hauser v. Dr. Chatelier's Plant Food Co., Inc., 350 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

...Chatelier's one-sentence motion for the writ did not allege the amount of the garnishor's claim, nor otherwise comply with the requirements of Section 77.03, Florida Statutes (1975). The writ, as issued by the clerk, was substantially as required by Section 77.04, and required the garnishee to respond as to whether or not he was indebted or held any property belonging to the judgment debtors....
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Merrill L., P., F. & S., Inc. v. Pub.'s Vend. Serv., Inc., 296 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

...On November 27, 1973, the appellant was served with a writ of garnishment by the appellee at its Miami office. The writ was for any debts owed by the appellant to the defendant, A.P. McCorkle. On December 18, 1973, 21 days later and one day late as provided by Fla. Stat. § 77.04, F.S.A., the appellant mailed an answer to the writ to the plaintiff's attorney and to the Clerk of the Dade County Circuit Court....
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Tire Kingdom, Inc. v. Bowman, 480 So. 2d 221 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 52, 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 6094

...Thus, the judgment for the full amount of the claim by Bowman, since it is in excess of any debt owed to Hines, must be set aside. We therefore remand to the trial court for reconsideration of damages. REVERSED and REMANDED. COBB, C.J., and SHARP, J., concur. NOTES [1] The writ in Carpenter was in the form provided by section 77.04, Florida Statutes (1983) and is virtually identical to the writ served on Tire Kingdom.
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Smart v. City of Miami Beach, 51 F. Supp. 3d 1299 (S.D. Fla. 2014).

Cited 1 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146285, 2014 WL 5040304

until November 12, 2009. Id. at Ex. D. Fla. Stat. § 77.04 provides that upon service of a writ of garnishment
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Laura M. Watson, P.A. v. Stewart Tilghman Fox & Bianchi, P.A., 162 So. 3d 102 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 16803, 2014 WL 5149106

on the garnishee in strict compliance with section 77.04, Florida Statutes (2012). For the reasons set
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First Am. Holdings v. Preclude, Inc., 955 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2007 WL 1373759

...The Florida garnishment statute requires that upon being served with a writ of garnishment, the garnishee must serve an answer stating whether it is indebted to the defendant and what sum the garnishee "has in his or her possession or control at the time" that the writ is served. § 77.04, Fla....
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Laura M. Watson, P.A., d/b/a Watson & Lentner v. Stewart Tilghman Fox & Bianchi, P.A., etc., William C. Hearon, P.A., etc. & Todd S. Stewart, P.A., etc. (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...Judgment Creditor were served on the Bank via certified mail without objection, which thereafter filed its answer to the writ of garnishment. The Judgment Debtor sought to dissolve the writ of garnishment, alleging lack of proper service on the garnishee in strict compliance with section 77.04, Florida Statutes (2012)....
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Navon, Kopelman & O'Donnell, P.A. v. Synnex Info. Tech., Inc., 720 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 15009, 1998 WL 821787

any other person indebted to the defendant. See § 77.04, Fla.Stat. (1997). Once that information is received
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1997).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

procedure in Chapter 197, Florida Statutes.6 Section 77.04, Florida Statutes, prescribes the form for a
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Crocker Investments, Inc. v. Statesman Life Ins. Co., 515 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 2589, 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 10984

1986 to answer Crocker’s writ of garnishment. § 77.04 Fla.Stat. (1985); Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.090(a). . This
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Rudd v. First Union Nat'l Bank, 761 So. 2d 1189 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 8018, 2000 WL 827076

of anyone else indebted to the defendant. See § 77.04. Fla. Stat. (1997). Section 77.055, Florida Statutes
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First Union Nat'l Bank of Florida v. Knyal, 874 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 7725, 2004 WL 1196983

garnishee has twenty days to serve an answer. § 77.04, Fla. Stat. (2003). In addition, upon issuance
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Merrill Lynch & Co. v. Valat Int'l Holdings, Ltd., 987 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 8464, 2008 WL 2357014

writs within the required twenty-day period. See § 77.04, Fla. Stat. (2006) (stating that a properly served
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Diane Bender v. Jack Shatz (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

applies to the property at issue in this case, section 77.04 requires the garnishee to serve “an answer on

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