§ 306-d. Additional mailing of notice in an action arising out of a
consumer credit transaction. (a) At the time of filing with the clerk of
the proof of service of the summons and complaint in an action arising
out of a consumer credit transaction, the plaintiff shall submit to the
clerk a stamped, unsealed envelope addressed to the defendant together
with a written notice in clear type of no less than twelve-point in
size, in both English and Spanish, and containing the following
language:
ADDITIONAL NOTICE OF LAWSUIT
(NAME OF COURT)
(COUNTY)
(STREET ADDRESS, ROOM NUMBER)
(CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE)
(NAME OF DEFENDANT)
(ADDRESS OF DEFENDANT)
Plaintiff:
Defendant:
Name of original creditor, unless same:
Index number:
Attention: a lawsuit has been filed against you claiming that you owe
money for an unpaid consumer debt.
You may wish to contact an attorney.
You should respond to the lawsuit as soon as possible by filing an
"answer" which may be done at the court clerk's office listed above.
If you do not respond to the lawsuit, the court may enter a money
judgment against you. Once entered, a judgment is good and can be used
against you for twenty years, and your personal property and money,
including a portion of your paycheck and/or bank account, may be taken
from you. Also, a judgment may affect your credit score and can affect
your ability to rent a home, find a job, or take out a loan.
You CANNOT be arrested or sent to jail for owing a debt.
Additional information can be found at the New York state court system
website.
Sources of information and assistance:
The court encourages you to inform yourself about your options as a
defendant in this lawsuit. In addition to seeking assistance from a
private attorney or legal aid office, there are free legal assistance
computer programs that you can use online to help you represent yourself
in this lawsuit.
For further information, or to locate a legal aid program near you, you
may visit the LawHelpNY website or the New York state court system
website, which has information for representing yourself and links to
other resources at: ___________________. (b) The face of the envelope shall be addressed to the defendant at
the address at which process was served, and shall contain the
defendant's name, address (including apartment number) and zip code. The
face of the envelope also shall state the appropriate clerk's office as
its return address.
(c) The clerk promptly shall mail to the defendant the envelope
containing the additional notice set forth in subdivision (a) of this
section. No default judgment based on the defendant's failure to answer
shall be entered unless there has been compliance with this section, and
at least twenty days have elapsed from the date of mailing by the clerk.
No default judgment based on the defendant's failure to answer shall be
entered if the additional notice is returned to the court as
undeliverable. Receipt of the additional notice by the defendant does
not confer jurisdiction on the court in the absence of proper service of
process.
(d) The chief administrative judge shall issue a Spanish translation
of the notice in subdivision (a) of this section and shall maintain and
publish the URL address for the web page containing consumer resources
for unrepresented litigants.
