Questione giuridica chiave
How to proceed when a self-employed debtor owns a car but claims no income above the minimum subsistence level in wage attachment proceedings.
Decisione estratta
The court held that the authority must first assess the credibility of the debtor's income statement and, only then, examine whether the use of a motor vehicle is necessary and economically justified for professional purposes.
Motivazione estratta
The court rejected the blanket assumption that either the income statements are false or the business is uneconomic, in both cases justifying an attachment roughly equal to car operating costs without further inquiry. A case-specific assessment is required: income must be compared with actual living expenses and, if implausible, estimated ex officio; then the necessity and economic reasonableness of the car must be evaluated.