Increases penalties for failure to execute and file satisfied judgments of $5,000 or more with court clerk from $100 to $500.

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S438-2011 Actions

• Jun 21, 2012: RECOMMITTED TO RULES
• Jun 12, 2012: AMENDED ON THIRD READING (T) 438B
• Jun 12, 2012: ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1162
• Jun 12, 2012: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
• Jun 5, 2012: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
• May 23, 2012: PRINT NUMBER 438A
• May 23, 2012: AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO JUDICIARY
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
• Mar 8, 2011: COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO JUDICIARY
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO CODES

S438-2011 Votes

S438-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S438

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to increasing
penalties for failure to execute and file satisfied judgments with the
court clerk

PURPOSE:

This bill would raise the fine (from $100 to $1000) on people who do
not execute and file satisfied judgments with the court clerk. The
goal is to encourage individuals to file so that it will be less
likely that someone will have false strikes on their credit report.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends subdivision (c) of section 5020 of the civil
practice law a rules to raise the fine for failing to execute and
file a satisfied judgment with the proper clerk from one hundred to
one thousand dollars.

Section two sets out the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

This bill amends the Civil Practice Law and Rules and affects every
civil judgment.
Under current law, an individual who receives a satisfied judgement
from the court must file a satisfaction of judgment. Most entities
such as credit card companies do this as a matter of standard
business practice because such satisfactions (or lack thereat) are
picked up by credit bureaus. If the entity does not file a
satisfaction (even if they got one) and the credit bureau picks it
up, then the credit rating of the individual involved in the dispute
is affected.

At issue now is the fact that the judgments in housing court and
elsewhere are starting to be picked up by credit rating agencies.
However, many landlords often fail to file a satisfaction of judgment
and so judgments can end up on a tenant's credit report as unpaid,
even if that is not true. This bad credit rating disproportionately
affects low income citizens because it means that they must pay more
for things such as credit cards, car loans and mortgages.

This legislation will most likely affect housing disputes since most
other businesses automatically file a satisfaction of judgment. The
goal is to increase tines and therefore give landlords and other
entities a greater incentive to remember to file satisfactions of
judgment. This will result in a decrease in the number of individuals
whose credit ratings are affected by a claimant's failure to file a
satisfaction of judgment.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:a


S.5219 - A.7922 Rosenthal

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall become a law.

S438-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     438

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen. KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

  AN ACT to amend the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  in  relation  to
    increasing  penalties  for failure to execute and file satisfied judg-
    ments with the court clerk

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1.  Subdivision (c) of section 5020 of the civil practice law
  and rules, as amended by chapter 575 of the laws of 1975, is amended  to
  read as follows:

    (c)  When  the  judgment is fully satisfied, if the person required to
  execute and file with the proper clerk pursuant to subdivisions (a)  and
  (d)  [hereof]  OF  THIS  SECTION fails or refuses to do so within twenty
  days after receiving full satisfaction, then the judgment creditor shall
  be subject to a penalty of one [hundred] THOUSAND dollars recoverable by
  the judgment debtor pursuant to [Section 7202 of the civil practice  law
  and  rules]  SECTION  SEVENTY-TWO HUNDRED TWO OF THIS CHAPTER or article
  eighteen of either the New York City civil court act,  uniform  district
  court act or uniform city court act; provided, however, that such penal-
  ty  shall  not be recoverable when a city with a population greater than
  one million persons is the judgment creditor, unless such judgment cred-
  itor shall fail to execute and file a satisfaction-piece with the proper
  clerk pursuant to subdivisions (a) and  (d)  [hereof]  OF  THIS  SECTION
  within  twenty days after having been served by the judgment debtor with
  a written demand therefor by certified mail, return receipt requested.
    S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
  it shall have become a law.


   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD01836-01-1