No action shall be commenced by the defendant or his assignee against a garnishee upon any claim or demand liable to garnishment, or to recover any property garnished, or execution be issued upon a judgment in favor of defendant against such garnishee subsequent to the service of the garnishee summons upon him, until the termination of the garnishee action; and if an action shall have been commenced or an execution issued, it shall be stayed by the court or a judge thereof, upon the garnishee's application; except that upon cause shown, the court or a judge may by order permit the commencement of such an action, or the issue of an execution, or the further prosecution of one stayed.
§ 1187.Action By Defendant Against Garnishee
Chapter 21: Garnishment and Attachment · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1187 bars the defendant, or his assignee, from suing the garnishee, or executing on a judgment against him, on a garnishable claim once the garnishment summons is served, until the garnishment proceeding ends, though a court may permit it on cause shown.
Full Text of § 1187
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 4837.
Plain-English Summary
Serving the garnishment summons freezes the defendant's own claims against the garnishee. He can't sue the garnishee, or his assignee sue on his behalf, on any claim liable to garnishment, or try to recover garnished property, or execute on a judgment he already holds against the garnishee, until the garnishment action is over. If he's already got a suit or execution moving, the court stays it on the garnishee's application.
The bar isn't absolute. On a showing of cause, the court may allow the defendant's action to start, an execution to issue, or a stayed proceeding to go forward anyway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the defendant sue the garnishee directly while a garnishment is pending?
Not on a claim liable to garnishment -- that suit has to wait until the garnishment proceeding ends.
What if the defendant already had a lawsuit or execution going against the garnishee?
It gets stayed by the court on the garnishee's application.
Is there any way around this stay?
Yes. The court may permit the action, the execution, or the continued prosecution of a stayed proceeding on cause shown.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: defendant suing garnishee oklahomastay of action against garnisheegarnishment proceeding priority over defendant's suit12 O.S. § 1187