Looking to domesticate a judgment in New York and wondering if it’s worth the expense?
Consider the following:
Except for judgments obtained for medical services, New York is extremely liberal when it comes to judgment enforcement. The New York Civil Rules of Civil Procedure allow collection attorneys to execute judgments right away. Most judgment enforcement is done by the collection attorney without leave of court, which leads to quick action. Debt collection attorneys can levy on bank accounts and brokerage accounts, garnish wages, restrain monies, and much more.
As long as your judgment is valid, even if it’s at its tail end, you can convert it into a New York judgment. Since a New York judgment is valid for 20 years and can be renewed, you can extend the life of your judgment.
New York allows 9% interest on commercial judgments unless otherwise stated in the judgment. Judgments against consumers now earn 2% interest per annum, down from 9% a few years ago.
A New York judgment acts as a lien on real property for 10 years. You can renew the lien as long as you do so before it expires. Even if you are not ready to force a sale of the judgment debtor’s property, you can lien the property and wait.
In fact, you can domesticate your judgment in New York without taking any steps to enforce the judgment. There is a buyer’s market for New York judgments, especially by creditors looking to acquire liens against desirable properties. But, at the end of the day, the cost to domesticate the judgment in New York needs to make sense.
Judgment domestication is generally not handled on a contingency fee. The fee collection counsel charges to domesticate the judgment is based on the amount of time it takes. The deciding factor is whether your judgment was obtained by default or on the merits. New York distinguishes between the two. Regardless, the process is straightforward. Only the default judgment requires more of a time investment by counsel.
A judgment obtained on the merits is easily domesticated in New York. For this, you’ll need an exemplified copy of the judgment issued within 90 days, an affirmation from the New York collection attorney, and an affirmation for the client’s signature. Once submitted, the documents should be sufficient for the New York court to enter a judgment.
To domesticate a judgment obtained on default, a suit must be brought on the judgment. The suit is straightforward but requires a few hours of work. Your attorney will need to file with the court, serve the debtor, obtain an affirmation of facts from you the client, and, if unopposed, prepare and submite the judgment roll.
Choosing an experienced debt collection attorney will reduce the costs and maximize your recovery efforts.
Looking for an attorney to handle your debt collection case? Contact Frank, Frank, Goldstein and Nager by email or call +1 (212) 686-0100. We have the experience that pays.
