A St. Louis judge ruled in favor of a divorcee’s bid to restrict the garnishment of her wages for attorney’s fees to just 10 percent.
“Debtor garnishee Caroline Less is entitled to head-of-household status under Missouri law since she shares equal visitation of the minor child,” wrote St. Louis County associate circuit court judge Robert Heggie in his Feb. 21 order.
Heggie issued the order after a Feb. 16 hearing based on Guardian Ad Litem Robert Hamilton’s opposition to Less’s exemption claim.
Less
| Caroline Less
“Creditor Garnishors' motion to strike debtor garnishee’s claim for head-of-household status is called, heard, and denied,” Heggie stated.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, Hamilton is demanding $8,958.04 but will now only be permitted to extract up to 10 percent from Less’s wages.
“Garnishment is keeping me in financial hardship, especially because of post-judgment interest,” Less told the St. Louis Record. “The ruling helps because it protects a portion of my wages from court abuse.”
The underlying issue pertains to the custody and care of Less and Melchior Van Den Bergh's 11-year-old daughter after their 2016 divorce. Less shares physical custody of her daughter with Van Den Bergh. But Van Den Bergh was granted sole legal custody.
“How could I possibly pay GAL Robert Hamilton more than $8,500 for a litigation I did not instigate, was not found guilty of medical neglect nor were the Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure followed in two years of litigation,” she said in an interview.
Less, of Richmond Heights, works as a senior sales manager for a hotel company.
Hamilton's attorney James N. Fendelman did not respond to requests for comment.
Another attorney who represented Less’s ex-husband, Van Den Bergh, in the former couple’s divorce proceedings also filed a Garnishment Application and Order, which was issued on Jan. 11.
Susan Hais, an attorney with Cordell & Cordell Law, a father’s rights law firm in St. Louis, is demanding $10,708.59.
In response to the garnishment order issuance, Less filed a Motion to Quash and Terminate Garnishment in which she alleges wrongful garnishment because Hais included $3,528.04 of post-judgment interest.
A hearing has yet to be set.
“Garnishment states Mom owes $10,708.59 cents to Cordell and Cordell, which includes an exorbitant amount of post-judgment interest,” Less wrote in her Feb. 8 motion. “Garnishment issued by Susan Hais misrepresented monies collected and or seized as she represented only $2,819.45 cents has been paid to opposing counsel, yet mom has paid opposing counsel $2,836.55 cents.”