Judgment debtors may turn to CPLR § 5240 to seek relief against the harsh effects of aggressive judgment enforcement.
Located in a "centralized location" in Article 52, CPLR § 5240 may grant a debtor a protective order or other help[1] against a creditor's collection tools. The law's broad purpose is to prevent unreasonable annoyance, expense, embarrassment, disadvantage, or other prejudice to any person or the courts.[2]
While this section is used a lot in real-estate foreclosure matters, our office includes this section as a backup in our motions to vacate judgments. We include sufficient factual detail to support arguments against judgment enforcement from many angles.
Some examples for use:
- Relief against concurrent wage garnishments and bank restraints;
- Sudden financial hardship;
- Venue (courthouse location) inconveniences;
- Mistaken or merged identity;
- Judgment fully paid;
- Payment by co-defendant;
- Inconvenience to co-tenants or other persons;
- Exempt nature of funds; and
- Creditor misconduct.
Contact us right away if you need help beating back a creditor.