§ 604-AA — Definitions

* § 604-aa. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms\nshall have the following meanings:\n 1. "Action" means any civil judicial proceeding as defined in section\none hundred five of the civil practice law and rules.\n 2. "Adequate documentation of coerced debt" means documentation that\nidentifies a particular debt, or a portion thereof, as coerced debt,\ndescribes the circumstances under which such coerced debt was incurred,\nand takes the form of any of the following:\n (a) a police report;\n (b) a federal trade commission identity theft report that identifies a\nparticular debt, or portion thereof, as a coerced debt;\n (c) an order from a court of competent jurisdiction setting forth\nfindings of coerced debt; or\n (d) a written verification, from a qualified third party to whom the\ndebtor reported the coerced debt, which shall be satisfied by any sworn\nor notarized statement including the required information as well as the\nname, mailing address, and email address or telephone number, as\napplicable, of such qualified third party's employer or, if\nself-employed, of such qualified third party.\n 3. "Coerced debt" is debt incurred as a result of economic abuse,\nincluding but not limited to, by means of fraud, duress, intimidation,\nthreat, force, coercion, manipulation, or undue influence, the\nnon-consensual use of the debtor's personal information.\n 4. "Creditor" means any person, firm, corporation or organization to\nwhom a debt is owed, due, or asserted to be due or owed, or any assignee\nfor value of said person, firm, corporation or organization, including\nany debt collection agency or debt collector as defined by section six\nhundred of this chapter; provided, however, that "creditor" shall not\ninclude a person to whom a debt is allegedly owed, due, or asserted to\nbe due or owed, where the person asserting such claim caused the debt to\narise by engaging in one or more acts of coercion, as identified in\nsubdivision three of this section, against the debtor.\n 5. "Debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to\npay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property,\ninsurance, rental arrears owed for use and occupancy of a dwelling, or\nservices which are the subject of such transaction are primarily for\npersonal, family, or household purposes, whether or not such obligation\nhas been reduced to a judgment.\n 6. "Debtor" means any natural person who owes or who is asserted to\nowe a debt.\n 7. "Economic abuse", in the context of intimate relationships or\nrelationships between family or household members as defined by section\nfour hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law, relationships\nbetween victims of human trafficking and traffickers, or relationships\nbetween children, the elderly, or individuals eligible for protective\nservices under subdivision one of section four hundred seventy-three of\nthe social services law, and their caregivers, means behavior that is\ncoercive, deceptive, manipulative, or that controls, restrains, or\nsabotages a person's ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic\nresources to which they are entitled, including but not limited to using\ncoercion, fraud, or manipulation to:\n (a) restrict a person's access to money, assets, credit, or financial\ninformation;\n (b) unfairly use a person's personal information or personal economic\nresources, including money, assets, and/or credit; or\n (c) exert undue influence over a person's financial and economic\nbehavior or decisions, including but not limited to forcing default on\njoint or other financial obligations, exploiting powers of attorney,\nguardianship, or conservatorship, or failing or neglecting to act in the\nbest interests of a person to whom one has a fiduciary duty.\n 8. "Personal information" includes, but is not limited to, a name,\naddress, telephone or mobile phone number, driver registration number or\nnon-driver identification card number, social security number, email\naddress, social media profile or screen name, place of employment,\nemployee identification number, mother's maiden name, financial services\naccount number or code, savings account number or code, checking account\nnumber or code, debit or credit card number or code, automated teller\nmachine number or code, electronic serial number, any personal\nidentification number or password of a debtor, and a debtor's personal\ndocuments, including, but not limited to, such debtor's driver's license\nor non-driver identification card, passport, permanent resident card,\nvisa, birth certificate, social security card, and any copies thereof or\ninformation contained therein. "Personal identification number or\npassword", as used in this subdivision, means any number or alphanumeric\ncode which may be used alone or in conjunction with any other\ninformation to assume the identity of another person or access financial\nresources or credit information of another person.\n 9. "Pleading" means any complaint, petition, counterclaim,\ncross-claim, interpleader complaint, third-party complaint or any\nsimilar papers asserting a claim and demand for relief required to be\nfiled with the court pursuant to rule twenty-one hundred two of the\ncivil practice law and rules, the rules of the chief administrator of\nthe courts, or any local rule or practice established by the court.\n 10. "Qualified third party" means any (a) law enforcement officer; (b)\nemployee of a court of the state; (c) attorney, physician, psychiatrist,\npsychologist, social worker, registered nurse, therapist, or clinical\nprofessional counselor licensed to practice in any state; (d) person\nemployed by or working on behalf of a government or non-profit office,\nagency, or service that advises or provides services to persons\nregarding domestic violence, family violence, human trafficking, or\nabuse of children, the elderly, or dependent adults; or (e) member of\nthe clergy of a church or religious society or denomination.\n * NB Effective March 19, 2026\n