Finding the money after a New York judgment: the information subpoena and the turnover order

A New York money judgment is worth what you can find. The CPLR gives a judgment creditor an unusually cheap discovery tool — a set of written questions sent by mail, answerable under oath within a week, with no deposition and no court appearance — and then a two-track turnover device to take what the questions find. The two rules are designed to be used together, and the mechanics differ sharply depending on who is holding the money.

The scope: everything relevant to satisfaction

CPLR 5223 sets the boundary, and it is deliberately wide.

At any time before a judgment is satisfied or vacated, the judgment creditor may compel disclosure of all matter relevant to the satisfaction of the judgment, by serving upon any person a subpoena, which shall specify all of the parties to the action, the date of the judgment, the court in which it was entered, the amount of the judgment and the amount then due thereon, and shall state that false swearing or failure to comply with the subpoena is punishable as a contempt of court.

Three things to take from that single sentence. The subject matter is "all matter relevant to the satisfaction of the judgment" — not relevance to the underlying claim, which is over. The subpoena may be served on any person, not only the debtor. And the contempt warning is not optional decoration: the rule requires the subpoena to say it.

Five items must appear on the face of the subpoena. A subpoena that omits the amount then due, or the court of entry, is not the document the rule describes.

The information subpoena: written questions by mail

CPLR 5224(a)(3) is the workhorse.

an information subpoena, accompanied by a copy and original of written questions and a prepaid, addressed return envelope. Service of an information subpoena may be made by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Answers shall be made in writing under oath by the person upon whom served, if an individual, or by an officer, director, agent or employee having the information, if a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship. Each question shall be answered separately and fully and each answer shall refer to the question to which it responds. Answers shall be returned together with the original of the questions within seven days after receipt.

Seven days. Not thirty, not twenty — seven, running from receipt. That is the shortest response period in New York post-judgment practice, and it is the reason the device is used so heavily against banks and employers.

Note also what the creditor has to supply: a copy and the original of the questions, plus a prepaid return envelope. The recipient answers on the original and sends it back.

An electronic version exists too, on the same clock. Under CPLR 5224(a)(4), where the person to be served consents in writing, an information subpoena may be served by magnetic tape or electronic means, and "Answers shall be provided within seven days."

The certification a private creditor must sign

This is the part most often overlooked, and it applies only to private creditors reaching third parties. CPLR 5224(a)(3)(i):

information subpoenas, served on an individual or entity other than the judgment debtor, may be served on an individual, corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship only if the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor's attorney has a reasonable belief that the party receiving the subpoena has in their possession information about the debtor that will assist the creditor in collecting his or her judgment. Any information subpoena served pursuant to this subparagraph shall contain a certification signed by the judgment creditor or his or her attorney stating the following: I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS INFORMATION SUBPOENA COMPLIES WITH RULE 5224 OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES AND SECTION 601 OF THE GENERAL BUSINESS LAW THAT I HAVE A REASONABLE BELIEF THAT THE PARTY RECEIVING THIS SUBPOENA HAS IN THEIR POSSESSION INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEBTOR THAT WILL ASSIST THE CREDITOR IN COLLECTING THE JUDGMENT.

The certification is required verbatim, in those words, and it carries an inquiry obligation: signing certifies the belief was "formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances." The rule exempts the State, a municipality, and their agencies and officers from this requirement — it is aimed at private collection practice.

If you receive an information subpoena as a third party and it carries no certification, that is the first thing to look at.

Who pays, and who does not

CPLR 5224(b) is short and settles a recurring argument:

A judgment debtor served with a subpoena under this section and any other person served with an information subpoena shall not be entitled to any fee. Any other person served with a subpoena requiring attendance or the production of books and papers shall be paid or tendered in advance authorized traveling expenses and one day's witness fee.

An information subpoena is free to serve. A subpoena that drags someone to a deposition is not.

The other two kinds of subpoena

The information subpoena is one of four devices in CPLR 5224(a). The others are a subpoena requiring attendance for a deposition on oral or written questions, and a subpoena duces tecum for books and papers. Their reach is broad — CPLR 5224(a-1) provides that a subpoena duces tecum served on a judgment debtor, on any individual while in the state, or on a business entitled to do business in the state, subjects that person "to the full disclosure prescribed by section fifty-two hundred twenty-three of this article whether the materials sought are in the possession, custody or control of the subpoenaed person, business or other entity within or without the state."

Timing for an examination is set by CPLR 5224(c): not less than ten days' notice, during business hours, unless the court orders shorter notice. And CPLR 5224(f) requires leave of court to compel a judgment debtor to appear for a second deposition.

Turnover: two very different procedures

Once you know where the money is, CPLR 5225 takes it — and the mechanism depends entirely on who is holding it.

Against the debtor, it is a motion. CPLR 5225(a):

Upon motion of the judgment creditor, upon notice to the judgment debtor, where it is shown that the judgment debtor is in possession or custody of money or other personal property in which he has an interest, the court shall order that the judgment debtor pay the money, or so much of it as is sufficient to satisfy the judgment, to the judgment creditor and, if the amount to be so paid is insufficient to satisfy the judgment, to deliver any other personal property ... to a designated sheriff. Notice of the motion shall be served on the judgment debtor in the same manner as a summons or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.

Against anyone else, it is a special proceeding. CPLR 5225(b):

Upon a special proceeding commenced by the judgment creditor, against a person in possession or custody of money or other personal property in which the judgment debtor has an interest, or against a person who is a transferee of money or other personal property from the judgment debtor, where it is shown that the judgment debtor is entitled to the possession of such property or that the judgment creditor's rights to the property are superior to those of the transferee, the court shall require such person to pay the money ... Costs of the proceeding shall not be awarded against a person who did not dispute the judgment debtor's interest or right to possession.

Getting this wrong is the classic error. A motion will not reach a bank, an employer, a relative holding cash, or someone the debtor transferred assets to; that requires commencing a proceeding, with its own index number and filing fee. Note also the cost protection built into (b): a stakeholder who does not dispute the debtor's interest is not exposed to costs.

Two more features of the special proceeding matter. Notice must also be served on the judgment debtor, in the same manner as a summons or by registered or certified mail. And the court "may permit the judgment debtor to intervene" and "may permit any adverse claimant to intervene ... and may determine his rights in accordance with section 5239."

Finally, CPLR 5225(c) supplies the paperwork power: "The court may order any person to execute and deliver any document necessary to effect payment or delivery."

How New York compares to the federal rules

Because federal enforcement borrows state practice under Rule 69, these are also the rules that govern collection of a federal judgment in New York.

A short checklist

• Put all five required items on the face of the subpoena — parties, date of judgment, court, amount of the judgment, amount then due — plus the contempt warning.
• Send the copy, the original and a prepaid return envelope. The rule requires all three.
• Diary seven days from receipt, and remember the answers come back on the original questions.
• Sign the certification whenever the target is not the debtor, and do the reasonable inquiry first.
• Do not tender a fee with an information subpoena; do tender travel expenses and a day's witness fee with a subpoena requiring attendance.
• Give ten days' notice for a deposition, and get leave before a second one of the debtor.
• Pick the right turnover vehicle. Motion if the debtor holds it; special proceeding if anyone else does.
• Serve the debtor either way, as a summons or by registered or certified mail.
• Ask for the document power under 5225(c) where a transfer needs paperwork signed.

Where these rules live

• CPLR 5222 — Restraining notice
• CPLR 5223 — Subpoena; procedure
• CPLR 5224 — Subpoena; forms
• CPLR 5225 — Payment or delivery of property of judgment debtor
• CPLR 5239 — Proceeding to determine adverse claims

This page explains what the rules say; it is not legal advice. If you have received an information subpoena and believe the funds at issue are exempt, the exemption procedure is a different rule — see claiming exempt funds.