Application of the 2022 Fair Consumer Judgment Interest Act
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REPORT
By Email
Hon. Joseph A. Zayas
Chief Administrative Judge
Unified Court System
25 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004
Hon. Norman St. George
First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge
Unified Court System
25 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004
Re: Application of the 2022 Fair Consumer Judgment Interest Act
Dear Judge Zayas and Judge St. George:
Thank you for issuing the attached April 22, 2024 memorandum clarifying that: (1) pursuant to the 2022 Fair Consumer Judgment Interest Act (FCJIA), courts should presume a 2% per year post-judgment interest rate on money judgments in consumer debt cases, and (2) courts in New York have found that “consumer debt” includes rental arrears. While we look forward to seeing the directive implemented in New York’s housing and civil courts, we remain concerned that judgments issued between April 30, 2022 (when the FCJIA took effect) and April 22, 2024, using an erroneous 9% interest rate remain outstanding.
While we appreciate that litigation and possibly settlement measures can be undertaken to address this error, we urge the Court to consider issuing a supplemental memorandum encouraging justices to grant, on submission and on an expedited basis, Orders to Show Cause and other motions seeking this relief where (1) the OSC or motion seeks to amend Housing Court judgment interest from 9% to 2%, (2) such a judgment was entered on or after April 20, 2022, and (3) the respondent fails to clearly rebut the presumption that a 2% interest rate should have been applied. We believe this approach would facilitate, in a fair and expeditious manner, the process of correcting erroneous judgments.
In our view, whether considering prior or upcoming judgments affected by FCJIA, the administration of justice will be best served if the greatest number of justices, litigants, and lawyers are aware of the issuance of the April 22, 2024 memorandum. To that end, the City Bar intends to use its best efforts to widely publicize the issuance of the memorandum to members of the bench and bar. Thank you for your assistance and our separate thanks to Justice Stoller, copied here, for taking the time to speak with us about these issues. If there is anything else we can do to be helpful in ensuring that the intent of the memorandum is carried out, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Respectfully,
Charles Giudice, Co-Chair
Civil Court Committee
Tedmund Wan, Co-Chair
Civil Court Committee
Jennifer E. Hudson, Co-Chair
Housing Court Committee
Ronald S. Languedoc, Co-Chair
Housing Court Committee
Cc:
Hon. Jack Stoller, Citywide Supervising Judge
Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York
Justin A. Barry, Executive Director
Office of Court Administration
