N.Y. General Business Law § 604-aa: Definitions

§ 604-aa. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms

shall have the following meanings:

1. "Action" means any civil judicial proceeding as defined in section

one hundred five of the civil practice law and rules.

2. "Adequate documentation of coerced debt" means documentation that

identifies a particular debt, or a portion thereof, as coerced debt,

describes the circumstances under which such coerced debt was incurred,

and takes the form of any of the following:

(a) a police report;

(b) a copy of an official, valid report filed by the debtor with a

federal, state or local law enforcement agency, the filing of which

subjects the person filing the report to criminal penalties relating to

the filing of false information, if, in fact, the information in the

report is false, that identifies a particular debt, or portion thereof,

as a coerced debt;

(c) an order from a court of competent jurisdiction setting forth

findings of coerced debt; or

(d) a written verification, from a qualified third party to whom the

debtor reported the coerced debt while the qualified third party was

acting in their professional capacity, which shall be satisfied by any

sworn or notarized statement including the required information as well

as the name, mailing address, and email address or telephone number, as

applicable, of such qualified third party's employer or, if

self-employed, of such qualified third party.

3. "Coerced debt" means a debt arising out of a transaction primarily

for personal, family or household purposes that was incurred because of

duress, intimidation, threat, force, coercion, manipulation, or undue

influence within the context of intimate relationships or relationships

between family or household members as defined by section four hundred

fifty-nine-a of the social services law, relationships between victims

of human trafficking and traffickers as defined by paragraph (i) of

subdivision (c) of section four hundred eighty-three-bb of the social

services law, relationships between children and their parents or

caretakers as defined in subdivisions (b) and (c) of section one

thousand ninety-two of the family court act, the elderly or individuals

eligible for protective services under subdivision one of section four

hundred seventy-three of the social services law, and their caregivers.

4. "Creditor" means any person, firm, corporation or organization to

whom a debt is owed, due, or asserted to be due or owed, any assignee

for value of said person, firm, corporation or organization, or any debt

collection agency or debt collector as defined by section six hundred of

this chapter; provided, however, that "creditor" shall not include a

person to whom a debt is allegedly owed, due, or asserted to be due or

owed, where the person asserting such claim caused the debt to arise by

engaging in one or more acts of coercion, as identified in subdivision

three of this section, against the debtor.

5. "Debtor" means any natural person who owes or who is asserted to

owe a debt.

6. "Personal information" includes, but is not limited to, a name,

address, telephone or mobile phone number, driver registration number or

non-driver identification card number, social security number, email

address, social media profile or screen name, place of employment,

employee identification number, mother's maiden name, financial services

account number or code, savings account number or code, checking account

number or code, debit or credit card number or code, automated teller

machine number or code, electronic serial number, any personal

identification number or password of a debtor, and a debtor's personal

documents, including, but not limited to, such debtor's driver's license

or non-driver identification card, passport, permanent resident card,

visa, birth certificate, social security card, and any copies thereof or

information contained therein. "Personal identification number or

password", as used in this subdivision, means any number or alphanumeric

code which may be used alone or in conjunction with any other

information to assume the identity of another person or access financial

resources or credit information of another person.

7. "Qualified third party" means any (a) law enforcement officer; (b)

employee of a court of the state, court-appointed special advocate; (c)

attorney, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker,

registered nurse, therapist, or clinical professional counselor licensed

to practice in any state; (d) person employed by or working on behalf of

a government or non-profit office, agency, or service that advises or

provides services to persons regarding domestic violence, family

violence, human trafficking, or abuse of children, the elderly, or

dependent adults; or (e) member of the clergy of a church or religious

society or denomination.