Sued for Debt in New York? Here's What to Do Next

20 days if served in person. 30 days if served by other methods. Check your summons carefully.

3 years as of April 2022 under the new law. Previously it was 6 years. This is one of the shortest credit card SOLs in the country.

Only 10% of gross wages, and wages under 30 times the minimum wage are completely exempt. New York is one of the most protective states for wage garnishment.

New York City has enacted strict rules governing debt collection, including requirements for additional disclosures and restrictions on collection practices within the city.

Most consumer debt cases are filed in city civil court. Small claims up to $10,000 in NYC. Supreme court for larger amounts.

The Consumer Credit Fairness Act, effective April 7, 2022, made one of the most significant pro-consumer changes to debt-collection law in any state. It amended N.Y. CPLR § 213-A to shorten the statute of limitations on consumer credit transactions from six years to three years, reaching credit-card debts, auto-loan deficiencies, store cards, and most other consumer credit. The three-year period generally runs from the date of default. Critically, the new shorter period applies to actions filed on or after April 7, 2022, even if the underlying debt is older. That means many actions on credit-card debts that would have been timely under the old six-year rule are now time-barred. If you have been sued in New York on a consumer credit debt, the very first thing to check is the date of default and whether the action was filed within three years of that date. If not, the case is time-barred and you have a complete defense, which you must raise in your answer. Many older default judgments may also be vacatable under CCFA changes.

The Consumer Credit Fairness Act added detailed pleading requirements in CPLR § 3015(i) and affidavit requirements for default judgments in CPLR § 3215(i) for consumer credit transactions. The complaint must include specific information about the debt, including the name of the original creditor, the account number, the date of default, and an itemization of the amount claimed including principal, interest, fees, and any payments. For default judgments, the plaintiff must submit affidavits of merit from the original creditor or its custodian (in many situations), proof of chain of title where the plaintiff is a debt buyer, and evidence of mailing notice to the consumer at the address provided by the court clerk. These requirements are strict, and many debt-buyer plaintiffs have struggled to comply, leading to denial of default judgments and dismissals. If you have been sued, review the complaint against these requirements; missing elements can be raised in a motion to dismiss or as a basis to oppose default.

Yes, a collector with a money judgment can serve a restraining notice and information subpoena on your bank, and the bank will typically freeze the funds in your account. New York provides important protections through the Exempt Income Protection Act (EIPA), codified in CPLR § 5222-a. The bank is required to automatically protect $3,600 in your account when a restraining notice is served, without you having to claim the exemption. The bank must also automatically protect up to two months of exempt federal benefits such as Social Security, SSI, VA, and pensions when those benefits arrive by direct deposit. Above those automatic floors, you can claim additional exemptions by completing the EIPA exemption claim form sent by the bank or by filing your own motion in court. New York exempts a wide range of income including 90 percent of wages received in the past 60 days, pension and retirement payments, public assistance, child support, and unemployment. Act quickly to file claims before the levy is executed.

Possibly yes. The Consumer Credit Fairness Act includes provisions allowing courts to vacate certain pre-existing default judgments and gives consumers a path to challenge old judgments that would not have met the new pleading and affidavit standards. Independently of CCFA, New York courts can vacate default judgments under CPLR § 5015 for reasons including lack of personal jurisdiction (often called sewer service), excusable default, or newly discovered evidence. The grounds for vacatur are broad if you act with reasonable diligence after learning of the judgment and can show a meritorious defense such as time-barred debt under the new three-year SOL, lack of standing of the debt buyer, or improper service. Successful vacatur reopens the case and returns the parties to where they would have been at filing, which often leads to dismissal. If you are dealing with an old NY default judgment, talk to a consumer law attorney about whether CCFA or CPLR 5015 vacatur is available.

A collector can ask you voluntarily to pay an old debt, but they cannot sue, threaten to sue, or imply that legal action is available on a debt that is time-barred. Under the Consumer Credit Fairness Act, the limitations period on consumer credit transactions in New York is now three years from default, so a credit-card debt more than three years past default is time-barred. Threatening or filing a suit on a time-barred debt violates the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692e, and likely also violates NY GBL § 349 and 23 NYCRR Part 1. New York also requires specific disclosures on collection communications regarding time-barred debts, and CFPB Regulation F now requires similar disclosures. If you make a partial payment or a written acknowledgment on a time-barred debt, you may revive the limitations period in some circumstances, so think carefully before paying or signing anything related to an old debt. Document any threats and consider an FDCPA counterclaim.

23 NYCRR Part 1, the New York Department of Financial Services debt collection rule, layers detailed requirements on top of the federal FDCPA. Among the key requirements: collectors must provide initial written disclosures within five days of first communication, including specific itemization of the debt and information about the original creditor; collectors must provide substantiation of the debt (account-level documents, signed contracts, statements showing how the balance was calculated) upon written request, and cannot continue collecting until substantiation is provided; collectors must disclose time-barred status with specific statutory language; and collectors must follow strict rules about communication frequency, voicemails, and electronic communications. Violations of 23 NYCRR Part 1 can support state administrative complaints to DFS and the Attorney General, and many violations also constitute deceptive practices under NY GBL § 349. The combination of federal FDCPA, 23 NYCRR Part 1, CCFA, and GBL § 349 gives New York consumers among the strongest collection-defense toolkits in the country.