N.Y. Civil Practice Law & Rules § 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

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.