N.Y. CPLR § 5232

NEW YORK CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES (CPLR) New York State | For Informational Purposes Only CPLR § 5232 Levy upon personal property § 5232. Levy upon personal property. (a) Levy by service of execution.The sheriff or support collection unit designated by the appropriatesocial services district shall levy upon any interest of the judgmentdebtor or obligor in personal property not capable of delivery, or uponany debt owed to the judgment debtor or obligor, by serving a copy ofthe execution upon the garnishee, in the same manner as a summons,except that such service shall not be made by delivery to a personauthorized to receive service of summons solely by a designation filedpursuant to a provision of law other than rule 318. In the event thegarnishee is the state of New York, such levy shall be made in the samemanner as an income execution pursuant to section 5231 of this article.A levy by service of the execution is effective only if, at the time ofservice, the person served owes a debt to the judgment debtor or obligoror he or she is in the possession or custody of property not capable ofdelivery in which he or she knows or has reason to believe the judgmentdebtor or obligor has an interest, or if the judgment creditor orsupport collection unit has stated in a notice which shall be servedwith the execution that a specified debt is owed by the person served tothe judgment debtor or obligor or that the judgment debtor or obligorhas an interest in specified property not capable of delivery in thepossession or custody of the person served. All property not capable ofdelivery in which the judgment debtor or obligor is known or believed tohave an interest then in or thereafter coming into the possession orcustody of such a person, including any specified in the notice, and alldebts of such a person, including any specified in the notice, then dueor thereafter c er coming into the possession orcustody of such a person, including any specified in the notice, and alldebts of such a person, including any specified in the notice, then dueor thereafter coming due to the judgment debtor or obligor, shall besubject to the levy. The person served with the execution shallforthwith transfer all such property, and pay all such debts uponmaturity, to the sheriff or to the support collection unit and executeany document necessary to effect the transfer or payment. After suchtransfer or payment, property coming into the possession or custody ofthe garnishee, or debt incurred by him, or her shall not be subject tothe levy. Until such transfer or payment is made, or until theexpiration of ninety days after the service of the execution upon him orher, or of such further time as is provided by any order of the courtserved upon him or her, whichever event first occurs, the garnishee isforbidden to make or suffer any sale, assignment or transfer of, or anyinterference with, any such property, or pay over or otherwise disposeof any such debt, to any person other than the sheriff or the supportcollection unit, except upon direction of the sheriff or the supportcollection unit or pursuant to an order of the court. At the expirationof ninety days after a levy is made by service of the execution, or ofsuch further time as the court, upon motion of the judgment creditor orsupport collection unit has provided, the levy shall be void except asto property or debts which have been transferred or paid to the sheriffor to the support collection unit or as to which a proceeding undersections 5225 or 5227 has been brought. A judgment creditor who, orsupport collection unit which, has specified personal property or debtto be levied upon in a notice served with an execution shall be liableto the owner of the property or the person to whom the debt is owed, ifother than t s specified personal property or debtto be levied upon in a notice served with an execution shall be liableto the owner of the property or the person to whom the debt is owed, ifother than the judgment debtor or obligor, for any damages sustained byreason of the levy.(b) Levy by seizure. The sheriff or support collection unit of theappropriate social services district shall levy upon any interest of thejudgment debtor in personal property capable of delivery by taking theproperty into custody without interfering with the lawful possession ofpledgees and lessees. The sheriff or support collection unit shallforthwith serve a copy of the execution in the manner prescribed bysubdivision (a) upon the person from whose possession or custody theproperty was taken.(c) Notice to judgment debtor or obligor. Where an execution does notstate that a notice in the form presented by subdivision (e) of sectionfifty-two hundred twenty-two of this chapter has been duly served uponthe judgment debtor or obligor within a year, the sheriff or supportcollection unit shall, not later than four days after service of --- NEW YORK CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES (CPLR) New York State | For Informational Purposes Only theexecution upon any garnishee, mail by first class mail, or personallydeliver, to each judgment debtor or obligor who is a natural person, acopy of the execution together with such notice. The sheriff or supportcollection unit shall specify on the notice to judgment debtor orobligor the name and address of the judgment creditor or the judgmentcreditor's attorney or the support collection unit. The notice shall bemailed to the judgment debtor or obligor at his or her residenceaddress; and in the event such mailing is returned as undeliverable bythe post office, or if the residence address of the judgment debtor orobligor is unknown, then to the judgment debtor or obligor in care ofthe p t such mailing is returned as undeliverable bythe post office, or if the residence address of the judgment debtor orobligor is unknown, then to the judgment debtor or obligor in care ofthe place of employment of the judgment debtor or obligor if known, inan envelope bearing the legend "personal and confidential" and notindicating on the outside thereof, by the return address or otherwise,that the communication is from a sheriff or support collection unit orconcerns a debt; or if neither the residence nor the place of employmentof the judgment debtor or obligor is known, then to the judgment debtoror obligor at any other known address.(d) For the purposes of this section "obligor" shall mean anindividual other than a judgment debtor obligated to pay support,alimony or maintenance pursuant to an order of a court of competentjurisdiction who has been found to be in "default" of such order as suchterm is defined in paragraph seven of subdivision (a) of sectionfifty-two hundred forty-one of this article and the establishment ofsuch default has been subject to the procedures established for thedetermination of a "mistake of fact" for income executions pursuant tosubdivision (e) of section fifty-two hundred forty-one of this article,except that for the purposes of this section only, a default shall notbe founded upon retroactive child support obligations as defined inparagraph (c) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty andsubdivision one of section two hundred forty, and paragraph b ofsubdivision nine of section two hundred thirty-six of the domesticrelations law.(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,if direct deposit or electronic payments reasonably identifiable asstatutorily exempt payments as defined in paragraph two of subdivision(l) of section fifty-two hundred five of this article were made to thejudgment debtor's acco s reasonably identifiable asstatutorily exempt payments as defined in paragraph two of subdivision(l) of section fifty-two hundred five of this article were made to thejudgment debtor's account during the forty-five day period preceding thedate that the execution notice was served on the garnishee bankinginstitution, then a garnishee banking institution shall not execute,levy, attach, garnish or otherwise restrain or encumber two thousandfive hundred dollars in the judgment debtor's account. Notwithstandingthe provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, an execution shallnot apply to an amount equal to or less than the greater of two hundredforty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed in the Fair LaborStandards Act of 1938 or two hundred forty times the state minimumhourly wage prescribed in section six hundred fifty-two of the labor lawas in effect at the time the earnings are payable (as published on thewebsites of the United States department of labor and the statedepartment of labor) except such part thereof as a court determines tobe unnecessary for the reasonable requirements of the judgment debtorand his or her dependents. This amount shall be equal to seventeenhundred sixteen dollars on the effective date of this subdivision, andshall rise to seventeen hundred forty dollars on July twenty-fourth, twothousand nine, and shall rise thereafter in tandem with the minimumwage. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit a bankinginstitution's right or obligation to restrain, remove or execute uponsuch funds from the judgment debtor's account if required by 42 U.S.C. §659 or 38 U.S.C. § 5301 or to enforce a child support, spousal support,alimony or maintenance obligation or by a court order. Nothing in thissubdivision shall alter the exempt status of funds that are protectedfrom execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process,under sect tion or by a court order. Nothing in thissubdivision shall alter the exempt status of funds that are protectedfrom execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process,under section fifty-two hundred five of this article or under any otherprovision of state or federal law, or affect the right of a judgmentdebtor to claim such exemption.(f) Fee for banking institution's costs in processing a levy byservice of execution when account contains only exempt, direct depositor electronic payments. In the event that a banking institution cannotlawfully garnish or execute upon on a judgment debtor's bankinginstitution account or funds are garnished or executed upon in CPLR § 5232 Page 2 --- NEW YORK CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES (CPLR) New York State | For Informational Purposes Only violationof any section of this chapter, the banking institution shall charge nofee to the judgment debtor regardless of any terms of agreement, orschedule of fees, or other contract between the judgment debtor and thebanking institution.(g) Where a levy by execution pursuant to this section is made againsta natural person's account at a banking institution, the sheriff orsupport collection unit shall serve the banking institution with theexemption notice and two exemption claim forms prescribed in subdivision(b) of section fifty-two hundred twenty-two-a of this article. Thenotice and forms must be served upon the banking institutionsimultaneously with the execution and section fifty-two hundredtwenty-two-a of this article shall apply, and all procedures statedtherein must be followed. The banking institution shall not transfer thefunds in the account to the sheriff or support collection unit for atleast twenty-seven days. If, after thirty days, the banking institutionhas not received an exemption claim form from the judgment debtor, or acourt order directing otherwise, it may thereafte r atleast twenty-seven days. If, after thirty days, the banking institutionhas not received an exemption claim form from the judgment debtor, or acourt order directing otherwise, it may thereafter transfer the funds tothe sheriff or support collection unit.(h) The provisions of subdivisions (e), (f) and (g) of this section donot apply when the state of New York, or any of its agencies ormunicipal corporations is the judgment creditor, or if the debt enforcedis for child support, spousal support, maintenance or alimony providedthat in those instances the execution contains a legend at the topthereof, above the caption, in sixteen point bold type with thefollowing language: "The judgment creditor is the state of New York, orany of its agencies or municipal corporations, AND/OR the debt enforcedis for child support, spousal support, maintenance or alimony." CPLR § 5232 Page 3