Daniel Tranen (Partner-Edwardsville, IL | St. Louis, MO) successfully argued a motion to dismiss in St. Louis County Circuit Court on behalf of a law firm. The plaintiff, an opponent of the law firm’s client, filed a putative class action suit based on wrongful garnishment, conversion and violation of the Missouri consumer fraud statute for a garnishment undertaken pursuant to a court order. The court order permitting the garnishment was reversed on appeal due to improper notice and the plaintiff’s suit was filed on behalf of a particular debtor and others (the putative class) who had been garnished based on the same notice. Daniel emphasized the damage this type of lawsuit – suing the lawyer who simply executed on a judgment pursuant to a court order – would damage the attorney-client relationship in Missouri if it were permitted to proceed, noting lawyers must be able to act on court orders on behalf of their clients without risk of personal liability in the event those orders are reversed in the future. The court dismissed the case with prejudice and without leave to amend.