“Queens mom sues bakeries for failing to garnish wages for child support”

by Walter Olson on April 21, 2008

“A Queens mom is so determined to get child support from her ex-husband that she filed a rare lawsuit against two of the world’s best-known bakeries for more than $8 million – alleging they failed to garnish his pay.” Chandra Myers says that Sara Lee Bakeries and Bimbo Bakeries USA, the subsidiary of a Mexican company that distributes such brands as Entenmann’s and Thomas’s English Muffins, “defied orders to garnish a total of $36,000 from Robert Sean Myers’ wages from 2001 to 2004.” According to New York City records, Bimbo handed Ms. Myers $18,382 in 2003; the company says it finds her ongoing claim to be without merit, while Sara Lee “declined to comment on claims it owes $11,000 in back child support.” (Nancie L. Katz, New York Daily News, Apr. 21).

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{ 7 comments }

1 Mike 04.21.08 at 6:38 pm

This isn’t that ridiculous – in Canada at least, an employer that has received a garnishment order is liable if it fails to comply with the order.

(the remedy is another matter entirely – the liability would be the amount which wasn’t withheld, not $8 million)

2 victim of her rants 04.22.08 at 4:17 am

Do a google search for “Chandra Cromwell,” “Chanda Myers,” RXLady4You and “Mama Proof” and read what comes up. Then decide who is the victim: this woman or these companies. She’s a nightmare to deal with, and proud of it.

3 wavemaker 04.22.08 at 8:02 am

Bimbo Bakeries?

Only in Queens.

4 Walter Olson 04.22.08 at 11:03 am

Actually, Bimbo is a giant food company based in Mexico, where it would seem the word lacks overtones of the mirthful or risque. It may be another instance of cultural connotations misfiring in translation, as with the popular Japanese drink Pocari Sweat or the Chevy Nova (”no va” = “It doesn’t go” in Spanish).

Still, one might daydream about Danish pastries shaped like a volcanic range and marketed as “Bimbo Eruptions” or something of that sort.

5 John Burgess 04.22.08 at 1:55 pm

Alas, Walter, the ‘Chevy Nova = no go’ meme is an urban legend. You might want to check Snopes.com’s entry on the subject.

‘Bimbo’ (f. bimba) doesn’t have quite the connotation in Spanish (or its original Italian, for that matter) as it does in English. It just sort of means ‘big guy’. In fact, only in English does it take on a bit of gender-bending and the sense of ‘big breasts and tiny brains’. Maybe the ‘tiny brains’ part conveys, as bimbo mobsters aren’t really the ‘wise guys’ they purport to be.

6 Walter Olson 04.22.08 at 2:06 pm

Thank you, John, for that correction. The Snopes page is here.

7 larry 04.22.08 at 4:21 pm

Is it true that this man loses his right to defend himself in court because he owes more than $50,000 in child support?

Are there any New York State family lawyers who could respond to this point?

Not that it would greatly surprise me. There seem to be certain exceptions to such constitutional protections as due process. Some of those exceptions are to be found in the child support area.

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