2023 New York Laws › CVP - Civil Practice Law and Rules › Article 52 - Enforcement of Money Judgments › 5232 - Levy Upon Personal Property.

§ 5232. Levy upon personal property. (a) Levy by service of execution.
The  sheriff  or  support  collection unit designated by the appropriate
social services district shall levy upon any interest  of  the  judgment
debtor  or obligor in personal property not capable of delivery, or upon
any debt owed to the judgment debtor or obligor, by serving  a  copy  of
the  execution  upon  the  garnishee,  in  the same manner as a summons,
except that such service shall not be  made  by  delivery  to  a  person
authorized  to  receive service of summons solely by a designation filed
pursuant to a provision of law other than rule 318.  In  the  event  the
garnishee  is the state of New York, such levy shall be made in the same
manner as an income execution pursuant to section 5231 of this  article.
A  levy by service of the execution is effective only if, at the time of
service, the person served owes a debt to the judgment debtor or obligor
or he or she is in the possession or custody of property not capable  of
delivery  in which he or she knows or has reason to believe the judgment
debtor or obligor has an  interest,  or  if  the  judgment  creditor  or
support  collection  unit  has  stated in a notice which shall be served
with the execution that a specified debt is owed by the person served to
the judgment debtor or obligor or that the judgment  debtor  or  obligor
has  an  interest  in  specified property not capable of delivery in the
possession or custody of the person served. All property not capable  of
delivery in which the judgment debtor or obligor is known or believed to
have  an  interest  then  in or thereafter coming into the possession or
custody of such a person, including any specified in the notice, and all
debts of such a person, including any specified in the notice, then  due
or  thereafter  coming  due  to the judgment debtor or obligor, shall be
subject to  the  levy.  The  person  served  with  the  execution  shall
forthwith  transfer  all  such  property,  and  pay  all such debts upon
maturity, to the sheriff or to the support collection unit  and  execute
any  document  necessary  to  effect the transfer or payment. After such
transfer or payment, property coming into the possession or  custody  of
the  garnishee,  or debt incurred by him, or her shall not be subject to
the levy.  Until  such  transfer  or  payment  is  made,  or  until  the
expiration of ninety days after the service of the execution upon him or
her,  or  of  such further time as is provided by any order of the court
served upon him or her, whichever event first occurs, the  garnishee  is
forbidden  to make or suffer any sale, assignment or transfer of, or any
interference with, any such property, or pay over or  otherwise  dispose
of  any  such  debt, to any person other than the sheriff or the support
collection unit, except upon direction of the  sheriff  or  the  support
collection  unit or pursuant to an order of the court. At the expiration
of ninety days after a levy is made by service of the execution,  or  of
such  further time as the court, upon motion of the judgment creditor or
support collection unit has provided, the levy shall be void  except  as
to  property or debts which have been transferred or paid to the sheriff
or to the support collection unit or as  to  which  a  proceeding  under
sections  5225  or  5227  has  been brought. A judgment creditor who, or
support collection unit which, has specified personal property  or  debt
to  be  levied upon in a notice served with an execution shall be liable
to the owner of the property or the person to whom the debt is owed,  if
other  than the judgment debtor or obligor, for any damages sustained by
reason of the levy.
(b) Levy by seizure. The sheriff or support  collection  unit  of  the
appropriate social services district shall levy upon any interest of the
judgment  debtor  in personal property capable of delivery by taking the
property into custody without interfering with the lawful possession  of
pledgees  and  lessees.  The  sheriff  or  support collection unit shall
forthwith serve a copy of the execution  in  the  manner  prescribed  by

subdivision  (a)  upon  the  person from whose possession or custody the
property was taken.
(c)  Notice to judgment debtor or obligor. Where an execution does not
state that a notice in the form presented by subdivision (e) of  section
fifty-two  hundred  twenty-two of this chapter has been duly served upon
the judgment debtor or obligor within a year,  the  sheriff  or  support
collection  unit  shall,  not  later than four days after service of the
execution upon any garnishee, mail by first class  mail,  or  personally
deliver,  to  each judgment debtor or obligor who is a natural person, a
copy of the execution together with such notice. The sheriff or  support
collection  unit  shall  specify  on  the  notice  to judgment debtor or
obligor the name and address of the judgment creditor  or  the  judgment
creditor's  attorney or the support collection unit. The notice shall be
mailed to the judgment  debtor  or  obligor  at  his  or  her  residence
address;  and  in the event such mailing is returned as undeliverable by
the post office, or if the residence address of the judgment  debtor  or
obligor  is  unknown,  then to the judgment debtor or obligor in care of
the place of employment of the judgment debtor or obligor if  known,  in
an  envelope  bearing  the  legend  "personal  and confidential" and not
indicating on the outside thereof, by the return address  or  otherwise,
that  the  communication is from a sheriff or support collection unit or
concerns a debt; or if neither the residence nor the place of employment
of the judgment debtor or obligor is known, then to the judgment  debtor
or obligor at any other known address.
(d)  For  the  purposes  of  this  section  "obligor"  shall  mean  an
individual other than  a  judgment  debtor  obligated  to  pay  support,
alimony  or  maintenance  pursuant  to  an order of a court of competent
jurisdiction who has been found to be in "default" of such order as such
term is defined  in  paragraph  seven  of  subdivision  (a)  of  section
fifty-two  hundred  forty-one  of  this article and the establishment of
such default has been subject to  the  procedures  established  for  the
determination  of  a "mistake of fact" for income executions pursuant to
subdivision (e) of section fifty-two hundred forty-one of this  article,
except  that  for the purposes of this section only, a default shall not
be founded upon retroactive child  support  obligations  as  defined  in
paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision  one  of  section four hundred forty and
subdivision one of  section  two  hundred  forty,  and  paragraph  b  of
subdivision  nine  of  section  two  hundred  thirty-six of the domestic
relations law.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,
if direct deposit or  electronic  payments  reasonably  identifiable  as
statutorily  exempt  payments as defined in paragraph two of subdivision
(l) of section fifty-two hundred five of this article were made  to  the
judgment debtor's account during the forty-five day period preceding the
date  that  the  execution  notice  was  served on the garnishee banking
institution, then a garnishee banking  institution  shall  not  execute,
levy,  attach,  garnish  or  otherwise restrain or encumber two thousand
five hundred dollars in the judgment debtor's  account.  Notwithstanding
the  provisions  of  subdivision (a) of this section, an execution shall
not apply to an amount equal to or less than the greater of two  hundred
forty times the federal minimum hourly wage prescribed in the Fair Labor
Standards  Act  of  1938  or  two  hundred forty times the state minimum
hourly wage prescribed in section six hundred fifty-two of the labor law
as in effect at the time the earnings are payable (as published  on  the
websites  of  the  United  States  department  of  labor  and  the state
department of labor) except such part thereof as a court  determines  to
be  unnecessary  for  the reasonable requirements of the judgment debtor
and his or her dependents. This  amount  shall  be  equal  to  seventeen

hundred  sixteen  dollars on the effective date of this subdivision, and
shall rise to seventeen hundred forty dollars on July twenty-fourth, two
thousand nine, and shall rise thereafter  in  tandem  with  the  minimum
wage.  Nothing  in this subsection shall be construed to limit a banking
institution's right or obligation to restrain, remove  or  execute  upon
such funds from the judgment debtor's account if required by 42 U.S.C. §
659  or 38 U.S.C. § 5301 or to enforce a child support, spousal support,
alimony or maintenance obligation or by a court order. Nothing  in  this
subdivision  shall  alter  the exempt status of funds that are protected
from execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other  legal  process,
under  section fifty-two hundred five of this article or under any other
provision of state or federal law, or affect the  right  of  a  judgment
debtor to claim such exemption.
(f)  Fee  for  banking  institution's  costs  in  processing a levy by
service of execution when account contains only exempt,  direct  deposit
or  electronic  payments. In the event that a banking institution cannot
lawfully  garnish  or  execute  upon  on  a  judgment  debtor's  banking
institution account or funds are garnished or executed upon in violation
of  any section of this chapter, the banking institution shall charge no
fee to the judgment debtor regardless of  any  terms  of  agreement,  or
schedule  of fees, or other contract between the judgment debtor and the
banking institution.
(g) Where a levy by execution pursuant to this section is made against
a natural person's account at a  banking  institution,  the  sheriff  or
support  collection  unit  shall  serve the banking institution with the
exemption notice and two exemption claim forms prescribed in subdivision
(b) of section fifty-two  hundred  twenty-two-a  of  this  article.  The
notice   and   forms   must  be  served  upon  the  banking  institution
simultaneously  with  the  execution  and  section   fifty-two   hundred
twenty-two-a  of  this  article  shall  apply, and all procedures stated
therein must be followed. The banking institution shall not transfer the
funds in the account to the sheriff or support collection  unit  for  at
least  twenty-seven days. If, after thirty days, the banking institution
has not received an exemption claim form from the judgment debtor, or  a
court order directing otherwise, it may thereafter transfer the funds to
the sheriff or support collection unit.
(h) The provisions of subdivisions (e), (f) and (g) of this section do
not  apply  when  the  state  of  New  York,  or  any of its agencies or
municipal corporations is the judgment creditor, or if the debt enforced
is for child support, spousal support, maintenance or  alimony  provided
that  in  those  instances  the  execution  contains a legend at the top
thereof, above  the  caption,  in  sixteen  point  bold  type  with  the
following  language: "The judgment creditor is the state of New York, or
any of its agencies or municipal corporations, AND/OR the debt  enforced
is for child support, spousal support, maintenance or alimony."