By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM: You were surprised to learn that your bank account had been frozen or your wages had been garnisheed due to a default judgment entered against so you quickly filed an order to show cause to vacate the default judgment arguing that you were never served with the papers. Â Now, the judge has ordered […]
What is a Traverse Hearing in a Debt Collection Case?
What Does With and Without Prejudice Mean in a Debt Collection Lawsuit?
By: Robert J. Nahoum “Stipulations†are written agreements between parties to a lawsuit. You can stipulate to almost anything. The most common types of stipulations are stipulations of adjournment (postponing a court date or deadline), stipulations of settlement (a settlement agreement resolving the case) and stipulations of discontinuance. When the stipulation is being used to dismiss the case as with […]
Can a Debt Collector Freeze My Direct Deposit?
By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM You just heard from your landlord and he tells you the rent check bounced; or maybe you swipe your debit card at the grocery store cash register and the cashier tells you your card has been rejected. Turns out, your bank account has been frozen due a debt collection judgment! In New York, the […]
What is a Credit Card Charge Off?
By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM: You’ve come home to find legal papers taped to your door. A closer look reveals that the legal papers are a debt collection summons and complaint – you are being sued you for an old debt.  You are terribly confused because you know this debt has been charged off by the bank years before. […]
What is the New York Exempt Income Protection Act?
By: Robert J. Nahoum A debt collector with a New York state court judgment has a powerful tool at its disposal to enforce the judgment and collect money from the judgment debtor called a restraining notice. A restraining notice is a judgment enforcement device that restrains anyone holding property of the judgment debtor from releasing that property. The most common […]
City of Yonkers Adopts New Debt Collection Requirements
By: Robert J. Nahoum The City of Yonkers has amended its Consumer Protection Code by adding new protections for consumers from whom a debt is being collected from a debt collection agency. The new rules expand the definition of the term “debt collection agency†to specifically include active and passive buyers of delinquent debts.  However, the definition also expressly excludes […]
Debt You Thought You Paid Off Through Debt Settlement
By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM: I have written before about debt settlement and how it works. To be clear, I am no fan of debt settlement and think that it is generally a bad idea for any consumer. In my opinion, the better mechanism for dealing with debt is usually a chapter 7 bankruptcy. A common problem we see […]
What is a Limited Scope Engagement?
By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM: You’ve been served was a summons and complaint or discovered that you have a default judgment entered against you. It’s a debt collector suing you on an old credit card or medical debt.  You’ve done your homework on the internet and realized that you can’t simply ignore the case as that will only make […]
Can Social Security Be Garnisheed?
By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM You are retired or maybe you got hurt on the job and your only source of income is social security or other government benefits. You fell behind on bills and used the credit cards to make up the difference. You could no longer make the minimum payments and now the creditors have sued you. […]
What is A Judgment Lien on Real Property?
By: Robert J. Nahoum If you’ve been sued and a debt collector and a judgment has been against you, that judgment allows the debt collector to garnishee wages , freeze your bank accounts and levy on your real property including your home. The lien on real property is a passive method for enforcing the judgment meaning that the only […]