Tips for New Yorkers to Protect Themselves from Predatory Debt Collectors

New York State officials have released a guide to help New Yorkers use the state’s Exempt Income Protection Act (EIPA) to protect their money from debt collectors:

The EIPA is a state law that prevents debt collectors from draining consumers’ bank accounts, leaving them unable to cover the costs of basic needs. The law automatically protects a certain amount of money in people’s bank accounts

from being frozen or seized, and also protects vital government benefits like Social Security, disability benefits, and veteran’s benefits.

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The EIPA automatically exempts a certain amount of money in people’s bank accounts from being frozen or seized. This protected amount is based on the minimum wage and is $3,960 for those in New York City, Long Island, or Westchester, and $3,720 for those anywhere else in New York as of January 2025. The EIPA also protects 90% of wages or salary earned in the 60 days before a debt collector attempts to seize funds.

Crucially, EIPA also protects government benefits and retirement funds from being frozen or seized, ensuring New Yorkers have enough money to pay their bills. These funds include:

• Social Security;
• Supplemental security income;
• Disability benefits;
• Unemployment insurance;
• Workers compensation;
• Veterans benefits;
• Spousal support, alimony, or child support; and
• Payments from public or private pensions and retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s or individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

For a copy of the guide, click here.

President's Day: President Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address to the Nation. January 11, 1989

Can a Thumbs-Up Emoji Form Binding Sales Contract?

At least, in Canada, yes. Technology and Marketing Law Blog has the details:

This is the instant-classic lawsuit involving a Saskatchewan farmer who text-messaged a “thumbs-up” emoji in response to an offer to buy his flax. The lower court found that the seller’s thumbs-up emoji constituted assent to the buyer’s offer and awarded the buyer $82k (Canadian) in damages. On appeal, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals affirmed the decision on a 2-1 vote.

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The seller argued that he had used the thumbs-up emoji to acknowledge receipt of the buyer’s text, not to assent to it. The majority says that is theoretically possible...Nevertheless, the majority says that the seller chose this particular emoji in this particular context...As a result, the emoji functioned as a signature...

The blogger, Prof. Eric Goldman, suggests that the outcome would have been the same in the United States:

While Canadian law resembles US law about electronic signatures, the emoji-as-signature issue may have been an easier call in the US courts. I think that the E-Sign and UETA laws in the US make it entirely clear that the emoji usage in this context would satisfy their requirements as a signature.

Second Amendment Legal Update, February 2025

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete copy of this month’s report, click here.