Whether your bank must respond to an out-of-state garnishment order or citation depends on several factors that require legal analysis, which we cannot provide. Consequently, we are not in a position to confirm or contradict your bank counsel’s determination that your bank was not subject to a particular out-of-state court’s garnishment order or citation.

An out-of-state subpoena — which is defined broadly enough to include a citation to discover assets — typically should be submitted to and reissued by an Illinois court. If this step was not taken, the citation likely is not enforceable against your bank. Similarly, for a garnishment related to an out-of-state judgment to be enforceable in Illinois, the judgment generally should be registered and filed in an Illinois court — with certain exceptions, such as a child support judgment, for which a filing is not necessarily required. Whether an out-of-state citation was properly reissued by an Illinois court or a judgment related to an out-of-state garnishment was properly registered in Illinois are questions for your legal counsel.

Also, we do not recommend communicating with a requester without consulting with your legal counsel, as you would for any communication in a legal proceeding that involves your bank.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Illinois Supreme Court Rule 277(d) (“. . . A supplementary proceeding against a third party must, and against the judgment debtor may, be commenced in a county of this State in which the party against whom it is brought resides, or, if an individual, is employed or transacts business in person, upon the filing of a transcript of the judgment in the court in that county. If the party to be cited neither resides nor is employed nor transacts his business in person in this State, the proceeding may be commenced in any county in the State, upon the filing of a transcript of the judgment in the court in the county in which the proceeding is to be commenced.”)

• Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/12-652(a) (“A copy of any foreign judgment authenticated in accordance with the acts of Congress or the statutes of this State may be filed in the office of the circuit clerk for any county of this State. The clerk shall treat the foreign judgment in the same manner as a judgment of the circuit court for any county of this State. A judgment so filed has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses and proceedings for reopening, vacating, or staying as a judgment of a circuit court for any county of this State and may be enforced or satisfied in like manner. . . .”)

• Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/12-652(b) (“A foreign judgment or lien arising by operation of law, and resulting from an order requiring child support payments shall be entitled to full faith and credit in this State, shall be enforceable in the same manner as any judgment or lien of this State . . . .”)

• Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, 735 ILCS 35/2(5) (“‘Subpoena’ means a document, however denominated, issued under authority of a court of record requiring a person to: (A) attend and give testimony at a deposition; (B) produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the person; or (C) permit inspection of premises under the control of the person.”)

• Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, 735 ILCS 35/3(a) (“To request issuance of a subpoena under this Section, a party must submit a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county in which discovery is sought to be conducted in this State.”)

• Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, 735 ILCS 35/3(b) (“When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this State, the clerk, in accordance with that court's procedure, shall promptly issue a subpoena for service upon the person to which the foreign subpoena is directed.”)