Bill Text: NY S03037 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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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

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                           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