Missouri Judgment Collector’s Filings Not Practice of Law

A “judgment enforcement firm” and its owner are off the hook in a proposed class action alleging the owner engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when requesting the garnishment of wages and bank accounts, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed.

But the would-be class lawsuit wasn’t frivolous, the court said, affirming that J&M Securities LLC shouldn’t get attorneys’ fees for having to defend the case.

J&M Securities isn’t a law firm, and Shannon Metzger, its owner, isn’t a lawyer, according to the court. Metzger filed J&M’s garnishment application forms and interrogatories in court in an effort to collect on ...