Bill Text: NY S03037 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that an attorney's lien maintains superiority over a right of set-off where the set-off is unrelated to the judgment or settlement to which the attorney's lien attached.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S03037 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S03037-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 3037 2013-2014 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E January 29, 2013 ___________ Introduced by Sen. DeFRANCISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to set-off against attor- ney's fees THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Section 475 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 2 478 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 3 S 475. Attorney's lien in action, special or other proceeding. From 4 the commencement of an action, special or other proceeding in any court 5 or before any state, municipal or federal department, except a depart- 6 ment of labor, or the service of an answer containing a counterclaim, or 7 the initiation of any means of alternative dispute resolution including, 8 but not limited to, mediation or arbitration, or the provision of 9 services in a settlement negotiation at any stage of the dispute, the 10 attorney who appears for a party has a lien upon his or her client's 11 cause of action, claim or counterclaim, which attaches to a verdict, 12 report, determination, decision, award, settlement, judgment or final 13 order in his or her client's favor, and the proceeds thereof in whatever 14 hands they may come; and the lien cannot be affected by any settlement 15 between the parties before or after judgment, final order or determi- 16 nation; AND AN ATTORNEY'S LIEN MAINTAINS SUPERIORITY OVER A RIGHT OF 17 SET-OFF WHERE THE SET-OFF IS UNRELATED TO THE JUDGMENT OR SETTLEMENT TO 18 WHICH THE ATTORNEY'S LIEN ATTACHED AND THE ATTORNEY'S SERVICES CREATED 19 THE FUND THAT ANY RIGHT OF SET-OFF IS CLAIMED AGAINST. The court upon 20 the petition of the client or attorney may determine and enforce the 21 lien. 22 S 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07809-01-3