Commonwealth Edison v. Denson
Court of Appeals of Illinois
494 N.E.2d 293 (1986)
Two judgment creditors, Commonwealth Edison (plaintiff) and Newsome Physical Therapy Clinic (plaintiff), each obtained garnishment orders against employees of Caterpillar Tractor Company who were already subject to separate support-order wage withholdings; Caterpillar declined to also withhold the creditors' full requested percentages because doing so, combined with the existing support withholding, would exceed what federal and state law allow. The trial court ruled for the creditors, holding support-order withholdings shouldn't reduce the disposable earnings available for creditor garnishment, and Caterpillar appealed.
Whether, in the garnishment of a debtor's wages, a support-order garnishment has priority over a creditor garnishment.