Arias v. Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt LLP

875 F.3d 128
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided November 14, 2017·No. Docket No. 16-2165-cv·Published·Cited by 65 cases

Opinion

LOHIER, Circuit Judge:

Franklin Arias claims that Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt LLP (“GMBS”), a law firm, violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and New York State law when it garnished his bank account and then tried to block him. from showing that all of the funds in his account were exempt from garnishment.1 The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Daniels, J.) dismissed Arias’s FDCPA claim and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Arias’s State law claims. As explained below, we VACATE the judgment of the District Court and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

As this case involves the alleged garnishment of Social Security retirement income (“SSRI”) in a New York-based bank account, and the interplay between the FDCPA and New York law relating to freezing and garnishing consumer bank ac- . counts, we first provide an overview of the relevant State legal framework.

1. New York Exempt Income Protection Act

Under federal law, SSRI is exempt from garnishment, with certain exceptions not relevant to this appeal. See 42 U.S.C. § 407(a). In 2008 New York enacted the Exempt Income Protection Act (“EIPA”) to better protect “exempt funds from forcible . collection—a ■ problem that had reached epidemic proportions in New York State.” Cruz v. TD Bank, N.A., 711 F.3d 261, 270 (2d Cir. 2013) (quotation marks omitted). The EIPA “remedied an imbalance in the prior law which unfairly placed the burden on debtors to show that their funds were exempt, at a time when they were being deprived access to those funds.” Distressed Holdings, LLC v. Ehrler, 113 A.D.3d 111, 976 N.Y.S.2d 517, 521 (2d Dep’t 2013).

To begin the garnishment process, a creditor can serve a restraining notice on the debtor’s bank, along with a copy of the notice to be sent to the debtor, an exemption notice, and two exemption claim forms. N.Y. C.P.L.R. §§ 5222(a), 5222-a(b)(l). “[T]he restraining notice serves as an injunction prohibiting the transfer of the judgment debtor’s property.” Ehrler, 976 N.Y.S.2d at 521; see also N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5222(b). But the debtor’s bank is required to leave certain funds unrestrained. The bank must leave unrestrained a minimum amount for the debt- or’s basic needs, calculated based on the federal and New York minimum wage laws. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5222®. And if within the 45 days preceding the restraining notice an account received a direct deposit of funds “reasonably identifiable as statutorily exempt,” the bank must leave $2,500 unrestrained. Id. § 5222(h).

Within two business days of receiving a restraining notice, the bank must serve the debtor with the restraint documents, including the exemption notice. Id. § 5222-a(b)(3). “The exemption notice advises the judgment debtor that his or her bank account is being restrained or frozen” and that “certain funds, which may be on deposit in the restrained bank account, are exempt from restraint and cannot be taken by the judgment creditor to satisfy the judgment.” Ehrler, 976 N.Y.S.2d at 522.

If the debtor believes that any of the restrained funds are exempt from garnishment, he may complete an exemption claim form—signed under penalty of perjury— and send it to the bank and the creditor’s attorney. N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5222-a(c)(l). The debtor may also send information establishing that the restrained funds are exempt, including, inter alia, “originals or copies of benefit award letters, checks, check stubs or any other document that discloses the source of the judgment debt- or’s income, and bank records showing the last two months of account activity.” Id. § 5222-a(c)(4). Upon receiving an exemption claim form, the creditor generally must instruct the bank to release the restrained funds if the exemption claim form “is accompanied by information demonstrating that all funds in the account are exempt.” Id. If the supporting documentation shows that “the account contains some funds from exempt sources, and other funds from unknown sources, the judgment creditor shall apply the lowest intermediate balance principle of accounting”2 and instruct the bank to release the exempt portion of the account. Id.

Regardless of the documents accompanying the debtor’s exemption claim form, the bank must release the restrained funds eight days after receiving an exemption claim form, unless the creditor files an objection in court within that time. I® § 5222-a(c)(3). The creditor may do so by making a motion under section 5240 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules and serving copies of its moving papers on the bank and the debtor. Id. § 5222-a(d). The creditor’s motion must be accompanied by an affirmation demonstrating “a reasonable belief that [the] judgment debt- or’s account contains funds that are not exempt from execution.” Id. “The affirmation ... shall not be conclusory, but is required to show the factual basis upon which the reasonable belief is based.” Id. If the creditor objects to an exemption claim in bad faith, it will be liable for the debtor’s costs, reasonable attorneys’ fees, actual damages, and an amount not to exceed $1,000. Id. § 5222-a(g). The court will hold a hearing to determine whether the funds are exempt, and shall issue its decision within five days of the hearing. Id § 5222-a(d).

2. Factual Background3

In 2006 Arias rented an apartment in the Bronx owned by 1700 Inc. At some point that year,’ Arias moved out of the apartment and allowed his daughter to move in, expecting that she would pay the rent to 1700 Inc. After his daughter missed two months of rent payments, 1700 Inc. retained GMBS and sued Arias for breach of the lease in Bronx County Civil Court (the “State court”). When Arias failed to file an answer, 1700 Inc. obtained a default judgment.

Around December 2014, 1700 Inc., through GMBS, tried to collect on its default judgment by issuing a restraining notice on Bank of America, where Arias had a checking account. In response to the restraining notice, Bank of America notified Arias that upon “receiv[ing] an order to remove funds” from his account, it had “researched [his] account[ ]” and identified $2,625 that constituted protected Social Security “benefits payments,” leaving $1,294.62 subject to restraint and removal from his account under the order.

That same month, Arias tried to persuade GMBS that “[a]ll of the money” in his account was SSRI, which is exempt from restraint and garnishment under federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 407(a). At Arias’s request, Bank of America sent GMBS Arias’s bank statements for the period February through December 2014, showing only deposits of SSRI.

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Arias v. Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt LLP, 875 F.3d 128 (2d Cir. 2017).

875 F.3d 128 (Arias v. Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt LLP) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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