Legislation

* § 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 federal trade commission identity theft report 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, 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" is debt incurred as a result of economic abuse,
including but not limited to, by means of fraud, duress, intimidation,
threat, force, coercion, manipulation, or undue influence, the
non-consensual use of the debtor's personal information.

4. "Creditor" means any person, firm, corporation or organization to
whom a debt is owed, due, or asserted to be due or owed, or any assignee
for value of said person, firm, corporation or organization, including
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. "Debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to
pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property,
insurance, rental arrears owed for use and occupancy of a dwelling, or
services which are the subject of such transaction are primarily for
personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not such obligation
has been reduced to a judgment.

6. "Debtor" means any natural person who owes or who is asserted to
owe a debt.

7. "Economic abuse", in 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, or relationships
between children, 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, means behavior that is
coercive, deceptive, manipulative, or that controls, restrains, or
sabotages a person's ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic
resources to which they are entitled, including but not limited to using
coercion, fraud, or manipulation to:

(a) restrict a person's access to money, assets, credit, or financial
information;

(b) unfairly use a person's personal information or personal economic
resources, including money, assets, and/or credit; or

(c) exert undue influence over a person's financial and economic
behavior or decisions, including but not limited to forcing default on
joint or other financial obligations, exploiting powers of attorney,
guardianship, or conservatorship, or failing or neglecting to act in the
best interests of a person to whom one has a fiduciary duty.

8. "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.

9. "Pleading" means any complaint, petition, counterclaim,
cross-claim, interpleader complaint, third-party complaint or any
similar papers asserting a claim and demand for relief required to be
filed with the court pursuant to rule twenty-one hundred two of the
civil practice law and rules, the rules of the chief administrator of
the courts, or any local rule or practice established by the court.

10. "Qualified third party" means any (a) law enforcement officer; (b)
employee of a court of the state; (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.

* NB Effective March 19, 2026