§ 306-D — Additional mailing of notice in an action arising out of a consumer credit transaction

§ 306-d. Additional mailing of notice in an action arising out of a\nconsumer credit transaction. (a) At the time of filing with the clerk of\nthe proof of service of the summons and complaint in an action arising\nout of a consumer credit transaction, the plaintiff shall submit to the\nclerk a stamped, unsealed envelope addressed to the defendant together\nwith a written notice in clear type of no less than twelve-point in\nsize, in both English and Spanish, and containing the following\nlanguage:\n ADDITIONAL NOTICE OF LAWSUIT\n(NAME OF COURT)\n(COUNTY)\n(STREET ADDRESS, ROOM NUMBER)\n(CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE)\n(NAME OF DEFENDANT)\n(ADDRESS OF DEFENDANT)\nPlaintiff:\nDefendant:\nName of original creditor, unless same:\nIndex number:\nAttention: a lawsuit has been filed against you claiming that you owe\nmoney for an unpaid consumer debt.\nYou may wish to contact an attorney.\n You should respond to the lawsuit as soon as possible by filing an\n"answer" which may be done at the court clerk's office listed above.\n If you do not respond to the lawsuit, the court may enter a money\njudgment against you. Once entered, a judgment is good and can be used\nagainst you for twenty years, and your personal property and money,\nincluding a portion of your paycheck and/or bank account, may be taken\nfrom you. Also, a judgment may affect your credit score and can affect\nyour ability to rent a home, find a job, or take out a loan.\nYou CANNOT be arrested or sent to jail for owing a debt.\nAdditional information can be found at the New York state court system\nwebsite.\nSources of information and assistance:\nThe court encourages you to inform yourself about your options as a\ndefendant in this lawsuit. In addition to seeking assistance from a\nprivate attorney or legal aid office, there are free legal assistance\ncomputer programs that you can use online to help you represent yourself\nin this lawsuit.\nFor further information, or to locate a legal aid program near you, you\nmay visit the LawHelpNY website or the New York state court system\nwebsite, which has information for representing yourself and links to\nother resources at: ___________________.\n (b) The face of the envelope shall be addressed to the defendant at\nthe address at which process was served, and shall contain the\ndefendant's name, address (including apartment number) and zip code. The\nface of the envelope also shall state the appropriate clerk's office as\nits return address.\n (c) The clerk promptly shall mail to the defendant the envelope\ncontaining the additional notice set forth in subdivision (a) of this\nsection. No default judgment based on the defendant's failure to answer\nshall be entered unless there has been compliance with this section, and\nat least twenty days have elapsed from the date of mailing by the clerk.\nNo default judgment based on the defendant's failure to answer shall be\nentered if the additional notice is returned to the court as\nundeliverable. Receipt of the additional notice by the defendant does\nnot confer jurisdiction on the court in the absence of proper service of\nprocess.\n (d) The chief administrative judge shall issue a Spanish translation\nof the notice in subdivision (a) of this section and shall maintain and\npublish the URL address for the web page containing consumer resources\nfor unrepresented litigants.\n