Where a "collection order" is issued over a claim, can the debtor — the original creditor of that claim — still sue the garnishee directly? For many years the Supreme Court held that "once a collection order exists, the debtor loses standing" (Supreme Court, Apr. 11, 2000, 99Da23888, among others). In 2025, however, the Supreme Court sitting en banc changed that position.
The Holding — Supreme Court En Banc, Oct. 23, 2025, 2021Da252977
The Supreme Court held that even where a collection order exists, the debtor does not lose standing to bring an action for performance against the garnishee, overruling all of the earlier precedents (the same applies to attachment under a disposition for arrears under the National Tax Collection Act). Its reasons were as follows.
① A collection order does not transfer the claim itself to the collecting creditor but confers only the "power to collect"; the claim remains with the debtor. ② An attachment and collection order bars only the debtor's "disposal" and "receipt (actual collection)"; bringing an "action for performance" to obtain a favorable judgment is not prohibited. ③ The debtor has an interest in suing — to interrupt the limitation period, and to secure a title of execution in case the collection order is withdrawn. ④ Under the earlier precedents, even a case that had reached the final appeal would be dismissed merely because a collection order had issued and would have to start over, which is markedly contrary to the one-time resolution of disputes and to procedural economy.
The Dissent and Practical Significance
The dissent was concerned about the weakening of the collecting creditor's priority, the problem of duplicative suits, and the risk that res judicata would bind the collecting creditor where the debtor conducted the litigation poorly. The majority nonetheless gave priority to the debtor's procedural rights and to procedural economy.
With this decision, the risk of a pending action being dismissed on the strength of a single collection order has disappeared. Because practice around standing in debt recovery and civil execution disputes has changed substantially, litigation strategy needs to be designed accordingly. Law Firm Changchun responds to claims and enforcement disputes on the basis of the latest case law. (This article is general legal information; the conclusion in any individual matter may differ.)