NY State Senate Bill 2019-S4638

Senate Bill S4638

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Compels the delivery of real property subject to a fraudulent transfer to the person entitled thereto

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to judiciary
Mar 19, 2019	referred to judiciary

2019-S4638 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6339
Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §221, RPAP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S4997
2023-2024: S6196

2019-S4638 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Compels the delivery of real property subject to a fraudulent transfer to the person entitled thereto and provides for the recording of judgments and orders relating to a fraudulent conveyance of title to property.

2019-S4638 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4638

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the real property actions and
proceedings law, in relation to compelling the delivery of real property
subject to a fraudulent transfer to the person entitled thereto and
provides for the recording of judgments and orders relating to a fraudu-
lent conveyance of title to property

 
PURPOSE:

To permit any civil or criminal court of competent jurisdiction that has
determined in its findings that the conveyance of transfer of real prop-
erty title fraudulent, to be granted the authority to issue an order
restoring the title to the last owner of the property that obtained
title as of right.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends § 221 of the real property actions and
proceedings law to assert that when a civil or criminal court determines

that a transfer of title was accomplished through fraudulent means the
court in its written judgement shall direct that the real property be
delivered to the proper owner or entity and that the title be restored
to such owner or entity and requires the court to arrange for the judge-
ment and order to be provided to the offices of the recording clerk in
the county or city where the property is located.This section further
requires the recording clerk to record the judgement and order and place
a notation on any documents deemed fraudulent by the court and on any
documents relating to subsequent conveyance of title based on fraudulent
documents. The notation shall reference the judgement and order and
include the name of the person or entity legally entitled to the proper-
ty. Additionally, this section requires that at the time the court
issues the judgement and order that the court provide a notice of the
aforementioned judgement and order to any person or entity who or that
asserts an interest in and to the fraudulently transferred property
based upon subsequent conveyances of title that were dependent upon the
fraudulent conveyance and documents. Finally, this section grants the
interested person or entity an opportunity to be heard before the court
within sixty days of being served with the notice of order for the
purpose of preserving their interests in the property.

Section two of the bill provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The current method of deed recording based upon a process of sale and
transfer of real property is filled with loopholes and opportunities for
dishonest operators to steal and transfer property without timely
discovery of the fraudulent act. By the time the fraud is discovered,
title has often switched hands several times, leaving a trail of deceit
which is costly and difficult to correct. For example, in the case of
People vs. George Marks, under Indictment Number 2479-2008, Mr. Marks
was found guilty of several counts of Grand Larceny and Falsifying Busi-
ness s Records, in relation to stealing property belonging to a deceased
owner of two properties valued in excess of $1,000,000. Mr. Marks was
convicted and sentenced to years in prison; yet he has been able to
continue claiming ownership of the property while serving time, display-

ing the gall to retain a management company to collect rent and manage
the properties while he serves his time for the crime.

Although convicted and sentenced for stealing property, the recording
clerk's office maintains that Mr. Marks is the recorded owner of the
property. And due to the fact that the lawful owner is deceased and has
no known heirs, except for the actions of a friend of the genuine owner
who has persistently kept the authorities of the continued theft of the
property, Mr. Marks, the convicted fraudster, would without a doubt, on
his release from prison, be able to sell and benefit from the property
he does not lawfully own.

There is currently no clear and easy process to restore a stolen title
to the lawful owner.In cases where the lawful owner is deceased and no
known interested parties are available to protect the lawful ownership
of the property and rights of unknown heirs to inherit the property,
this law would empower the courts to act to ensure that fraudsters are
not able to steal and benefit from the theft of the property of a
deceased owner even after conviction of theft.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2019-S4638 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4638
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 19, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the  real  property  actions  and  proceedings  law,  in
   relation  to  compelling  the  delivery  of real property subject to a
   fraudulent transfer to the person entitled thereto  and  provides  for
   the recording of judgments and orders relating to a fraudulent convey-
   ance of title to property
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 221 of the real property  actions  and  proceedings
 law,  as  amended by chapter 507 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read
 as follows:
   § 221. Compelling delivery of possession  of  real  property.  1.  (A)
 Where a judgment affecting the title to, or the possession, enjoyment or
 use  of,  real  property  allots to any person a distinct parcel of real
 property, or contains a direction for the  sale  of  real  property,  or
 confirms  such  an allotment or sale, it also may direct the delivery of
 the possession of the property to the person entitled  thereto,  subject
 to the rights and obligations set forth in section thirteen hundred five
 of this chapter.
   (B) UPON A FINDING BY A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDIC-
 TION  THAT A TRANSFER OF TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY WAS EFFECTED IN WHOLE OR
 IN PART BY FRAUD, THE COURT IN ITS WRITTEN  JUDGMENT  SHALL  DIRECT  THE
 DELIVERY  OF  THE POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY TO THE PERSON WHO OR ENTITY
 THAT THE COURT FINDS TO BE THE LAST BONA  FIDE  OWNER  OF  THE  PROPERTY
 PRIOR  TO  THE  FRAUDULENT  TRANSFER AND SHALL DIRECT THAT TITLE TO SUCH
 PROPERTY BE RESTORED TO SUCH PERSON OR ENTITY. THE COURT  SHALL  ARRANGE
 FOR  THE JUDGMENT AND ORDER TO BE PROVIDED TO THE OFFICES OF THE RECORD-
 ING CLERK FOR THE COUNTY OR CITY IN WHICH THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED.   THE
 RECORDING CLERK SHALL PROMPTLY RECORD THE JUDGMENT AND ORDER AND PLACE A
 NOTATION  ON  ANY  DOCUMENTS  DEEMED  FRAUDULENT BY THE COURT AND ON ANY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD08691-04-9

 S. 4638                             2
 
 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO SUBSEQUENT CONVEYANCES OF TITLE THAT WERE  DEPEND-
 ENT  UPON  THE  FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCE AND DOCUMENTS. SUCH NOTATION SHALL
 REFERENCE THE JUDGMENT AND  ORDER AND INDICATE THE NAME OF THE PERSON OR
 ENTITY LEGALLY ENTITLED TO POSSESSION OF AND TITLE TO THE PROPERTY.
   (C) AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE OF A JUDGMENT AND ORDER NULLIFYING A FRAU-
 DULENT   TRANSFER  OF  TITLE  TO  PROPERTY  AND  DIRECTING  DELIVERY  OF
 POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY TO THE PERSON ENTITLED THERETO, AS  DESCRIBED
 IN  PARAGRAPH  (B)  OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE COURT ISSUING SUCH JUDGMENT
 AND ORDER SHALL PROVIDE NOTICE OF THE JUDGMENT AND ORDER TO  ANY  PERSON
 OR ENTITY NOT A PARTY TO THE PROCEEDINGS WHO OR THAT ASSERTS AN INTEREST
 OF  RECORD  IN  AND  TO THE FRAUDULENTLY TRANSFERRED PROPERTY BASED UPON
 SUBSEQUENT CONVEYANCES OF TITLE THAT WERE DEPENDENT UPON  THE FRAUDULENT
 CONVEYANCE AND DOCUMENTS. SUCH PERSON OR ENTITY SHALL BE  PROVIDED  WITH
 AN  OPPORTUNITY  TO BE HEARD BEFORE THE COURT WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF BEING
 SERVED WITH THE NOTICE OF ORDER FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRESERVING HIS OR HER
 INTERESTS IN THE PROPERTY.
   2. If a party, or his representative or successor, who is bound by the
 judgment, withholds possession from the person thus declared to be enti-
 tled thereto, the court, by order, in its discretion, besides  punishing
 the  disobedience  as  a  contempt,  may require the sheriff to put that
 person into possession. Such an order shall be executed as if it were an
 execution for the delivery of the possession of the property.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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