Mercado v. Carmel Partners Construction LLC

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MIGUEL ANGEL MERCADO, et al.

Plaintiffs,

v. Civil Action No. 22-cv-3083 CARMEL PARTNERS CONSTRUCTION LLC, et al.

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiffs move for judgment of condemnation against Garnishee PNC Bank for $1,556.89.

Pls.’ Mot. for J. of Condemnation Against Garnishee at 1–3, ECF No. 61-1. For the reasons below,

the court will GRANT Plaintiffs’ Motion.

A money judgment may be enforced by writ of execution in accordance “with the

procedure of the state where the court is located.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 69(a)(1). In the District of

Columbia, a plaintiff may seek a writ of attachment against a defendant by a third-party garnishee.

D.C. Code §§ 16-544, 16-546. A court may issue a writ of attachment either before, at the same

time, or after a writ of execution. Id. § 16-542. The writ of attachment may be served on the

garnishee with interrogatories, asking the garnishee “about any property of the defendant in his

possession or charge, or indebtedness of his to the defendant.” Id. § 16-552(a). “Service of the

writ on the garnishee creates a valid lien in favor of the judgment creditor on the debtor’s property

held by the garnishee.” Consumers United Ins. Co. v. Smith, 644 A.2d 1328, 1352 (D.C. 1994).

The garnishee must file its answers to the interrogatories within ten days of being served. D.C.

Code § 16-552(a).

Page 1 of 3 A plaintiff has four weeks from the date of the answer to move for the entry of judgment

against the garnishee. D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 69-I(e)(2); United States v. All Assets Held at

Bank Julius Baer & Co., 772 F. Supp. 2d 191, 203 (D.D.C. 2011) (stating that a lien is not final

until the plaintiff, “after serving the writ of attachment, move[s] for the entry of judgment against

the garnishee”). If the garnishee admits to possessing credits of the defendant in its answer to the

interrogatories, judgment must be entered against the garnishee “for the amount of credits admitted

or found, not exceeding the amount of the plaintiff’s judgment, and costs, and execution shall be

had thereon not to exceed the credits in his hands.” D.C. Code § 16-556(a).

Plaintiffs complied with this procedure and timely moved for execution. On September

20, 2024, this court entered judgment jointly and severally against Defendants J&D Plumbing of

DC LLC and Jonathan M. Rivadeneira Chavez for $50,036.24. See Mem. Op. at 9, 15, ECF No.

34; Order, ECF No. 35. On April 30, 2025, the court granted Plaintiffs’ prior Motion for Judgment

of Condemnation, ECF No. 49-1, ordering Garnishee Bank of America to pay $21,240.24 in partial

satisfaction of that amount. See Order at 2–3, ECF No. 50. As a result, $28,796 of the judgment

remains unpaid and uncollected.

In July 2025, Plaintiffs sought writs of attachment other than wages, salary, and

commissions from Garnishee PNC Bank—one for each Defendant. See D.C. Code § 16-544; D.C.

Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 69-I(e)(2); ECF Nos. 52, 53. The writs were issued by the Clerk of Court on

August 12, 2025, ECF No. 55, and were served on the Garnishee on August 25, 2025, along with

interrogatories, ECF No. 56. On September 15, 2025, Garnishee filed its Answer to the Writ of

Garnishment for the Chavez Writ, ECF No. 60, and its Answer to the Writ of Garnishment for

J&D Plumbing, ECF No. 58. In response to the Chavez Writ, Garnishee admitted that it is holding

$1,556.89 in assets belonging to Defendant Chavez. See ECF No. 60 at 1. In response to the J&D

Page 2 of 3 Plumbing Writ, Garnishee indicated “No Funds Available.” ECF No. 58 at 1. Plaintiff

moved for condemnation on October 1, 2025, ECF No. 61-1, which was within D.C.’s

four-week statutory window, see D.C. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 69-I(e)(2).

In light of Plaintiffs’ compliance with the above procedures, Plaintiffs’ Motion for

Judgment of Condemnation Against PNC Bank is GRANTED for $1,556.89, ECF No 61-1. It is

FURTHER ORDERED that Garnishee PNC Bank must make $1,556.89 payable to the

“O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue LLP IOLTA Account” on behalf of the Plaintiffs/Judgment

Creditors and mail it to Plaintiffs’ attorney, O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue LLP, c/o Jacqueline

Canzoneri, 5301 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20015.

SO ORDERED.

Date: July 29, 2026

Tanya S. Chutkan TANYA S. CHUTKAN United States District Judge

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