Radiance Capital Receivables Twelve, LLC v. Bondy’s Ford, Inc., [Ms. SC-2023-0683, Aug. 23, 2024] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2024). The Court (Bryan, J.; Parker, C.J., and Shaw, Stewart, and Mitchell, JJ., concur) reverses the Henry Circuit Court’s judgment releasing a garnishment issued to Bondy’s Ford, Inc. by Radiance Capital Receivables Twelve, LLC (“Radiance”). Radiance had garnished the wages of judgment debtor David Sherrill, who had worked for Bondy’s as a private pilot. Bondy’s stopped payments on the garnishment after July 1, 2019 and asserted that Sherrill had left its employment at that time and began working for KDS Aero Services.
The Court first explains per “§ 6-10-7(a) Ala. Code 1975, Radiance treated Bondy’s August 29, 2019, letter (stating that Sherrill had left its employment) as ‘an unsworn amended answer’ and contested Bondy’s assertions set forth in the letter.” Ms. *7. The Court concludes the summary judgment standard of review applies “[b]ecause Radiance included supporting evidentiary materials with its responsive ‘Motion for Judgment Against Garnishee’…” Ibid.
The Court holds that Bondy’s waived its argument that Reliance’s summary judgment evidence was not properly authenticated “because Bondy’s did not object to the admissibility of Radiance’s evidence in the trial court and did not move to strike the evidence on the ground that it was not authenticated.” Ms. *9, citing Chatham v. CSX Transp., Inc., 613 So. 2d 341, 344 (Ala. 1993).
On the merits, the Court first explains: If a “garnishee, ‘fails to make such payment, he is liable as if he had admitted an indebtedness for the amount of such money.’ § 6-6-452 [Ala. Code 1975]. The ultimate question before the trial court in this case on the parties’ cross-motions for a summary judgment was not whether Sherrill remained an employee of Bondy’s. It was whether Bondy’s continued to owe money to Sherrill ....” Ms. *23.
The Court reverses the summary judgment in favor of Bondy’s because “the evidence of Sherrill’s misrepresentations in efforts to avoid the debt, his misuse of Bondy’s corporate form to receive benefits he seemingly was not entitled to, ... create genuine issues of material fact regarding whether Sherrill was engaged in fraud or misuse of KDS Aero Services’ corporate form to hide funds owed to him by Bondy’s.” Ms. *25.