Medical Finance Ass'n v. Rambo

SHAW, P. J.

Sections 690 and 690.11, Code of Civil Procedure, exempt from execution or attachment, in a case such as we have here, “one-half of the earnings of the defendant or judgment debtor received for his personal services rendered at any time within thirty days next preceding the levy of attachment or execution” upon a proper showing that such half is necessary for the support, of himself and family. The word “received”, here, is not to be taken as requiring that earnings, to be exempt, must be paid over to the judgment debtor. So to construe it would prevent the exemption of earnings which, like those here in question, are levied on by garnishment proceedings before they come into the hands of the judgment debtor, and would very nearly deprive the provision of any effect, for such is the usual course of proceeding when it is sought to reach earnings. The word “received” has some variety of meaning, and may signify “arising and accruing” (52 Cor. Jur. 1192). The liberality of construction which is applied to all exemption statutes

(Wade

v.

Rathbun,

(1937) 23 Cal. App. (2d) 758, 760 [67 Pac. (2d) 765]), requires that it be so construed here. In other words, compensation' for personal services performed becomes, as soon- as it is earned, 4‘earnings received”, and such earnings, if subjected to garnishment proceedings, may be allowed to the judgment debtor as exempt, upon a proper-showing. We are not to be understood as saying that the exemption would not also attach to the proceeds of his earnings in the judgment debtor’s hands, so long as they could be identified as such. That question is not before us and we express no opinion on it.

The provision quoted -from section 690.11 refers to the very money received or due as earnings, not to other in

*Supp. 758

come of an equivalent amount from some other source. When such earnings are before the court, the exemption is not to be denied because the judgment debtor may already have received or there may have become due to him during the thirty-day period other income, no matter what its amount or what disposition he may have made of it. Hence in this ease the facts that real estate rentals accrued to him and he assigned them as security for another debt, do not defeat his exemption claim. If this transfer is for any reason void as to plaintiff, the law affords it ample remedies otherwise.

The other question presented here relates to the manner of applying the exemption to the earnings during the thirty-day period. Defendant’s earnings during that period were “between $125.00 and $130.00”. $78.85 thereof was held under the levy, and the status or disposition of the remainder of such earnings does not appear. There are two possible solutions of the problem. First: If the judgment debtor has already received part of the earnings, this part is to be applied to the exemption and out of the amount levied upon he can claim only enough to complete the exemption, leaving the balance subject to the levy. This is the plaintiff’s contention here. Second: The statutory ratio is to be applied to the amount levied upon by each levy, allowing the judgment debtor as exempt one-half of such amount, regardless of amounts theretofore received or subsequently to be received by him. This is the rule adopted by the trial court.