If the garnishee, after being served with the summons, fail to appear or answer personally, or if it be suggested that he has not fully disclosed his liability, the proceedings shall be according to §§ 8.01-564 and 8.01-565, mutatis mutandis, except that when the summons is before a general district court, the court shall proceed without a jury.
§ 8.01-519.Proceedings where garnishee fails to appear or answer, or to disclose his liability.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 7. Garnishment · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceWhen a garnishee fails to appear or answer after service, or is suspected of hiding the full extent of its liability, the case proceeds under the same rules §§ 8.01-564 and 8.01-565 provide, applied with necessary changes, except that general district courts handle it without a jury.
Full Text of § 8.01-519
Plain-English Summary
A garnishee who ignores the summons, or who answers but appears to be understating what it owes, cannot stall the process. Section 8.01-519 handles that scenario by borrowing the enforcement machinery already built for a related proceeding elsewhere in the Code, §§ 8.01-564 and 8.01-565, and applying it here with the necessary adjustments.
That cross-reference means the creditor is not left without a remedy just because the garnishee is uncooperative or evasive; the same tools used to force disclosure and establish liability in that other context carry over to garnishment. The one carve-out is procedural: while those borrowed provisions might otherwise involve a jury, a garnishment proceeding in general district court skips that step and proceeds before the judge alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a garnishee does not appear or answer after being served?
The case proceeds according to §§ 8.01-564 and 8.01-565, applied with necessary modifications.
What if the garnishee answers but is suspected of not fully disclosing its liability?
The same §§ 8.01-564 and 8.01-565 procedures apply to test and establish the true extent of liability.
Does a jury decide these disputes in general district court?
No, the court proceeds without a jury when the summons is before a general district court.
What does “mutatis mutandis” mean in the context of this cross-reference?
It means the borrowed procedures apply with the changes necessary to fit the garnishment context, rather than word for word.
Which sections govern the orders and costs that follow once liability is established this way?
Related provisions like §§ 8.01-516.1 and 8.01-521 govern the resulting orders and costs.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-447; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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