The suspension applies to student, medical and other state-referred debt until at least Dec. 31. Editor’s note: This article contains a correction on civil tolling provisions.
11/5/2020 11:00
New York Attorney General Letitia James has extended the suspension of debt collection for medical and student debt owed to the state of New York through the end of the year, in response to financial impacts resulting from the spread of COVID-19.
The suspension applies to medical and student debt that has been specifically referred to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for collection, according to a news release from the OAG.
The OAG will assess the needs of consumers and may issue an extension beyond Dec. 31, 2020.
The attorney general will also continue to accept applications “for suspension of all other types of debt owed to the state of New York and referred to the OAG for collection,” according to the news release.
Interest accrual and collection of fees on outstanding state medical and student debt are suspended as well.
In addition, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.72, generally continuing temporary suspensions and modifications of laws relating to the COVID-19 public health emergency. That continuation of the general New York Emergency Order did not, however, renew the civil tolling provisions that have been in place since the announcement of Executive Order 202.8 (as subsequently continued and modified) on March 20, 2020. In particular, Executive Order 202.72 states that:
“Pursuant to Executive Order 202.67, the suspension for civil cases in Executive Order 202.8, as modified and extended in subsequent Executive Orders, that tolled any specific time limit for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action, notice, motion, or other process or proceeding as prescribed by the procedural laws of the state, including but not limited to the family court act, the civil practice law and rules, the court of claims act, the surrogate’s court procedure act, and the uniform court acts, or by any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or part thereof, is hereby no longer in effect as of November 4, 2020 . . . .” (Emphasis added.)
The discontinuation of the tolling provisions put in place by Executive Order 202.8 and subsequently continued, most recently with New York Executive Order 202.67, therefore took effect on Nov. 4, although criminal and certain juvenile delinquency and family-law provisions remain tolled.
Editor’s note: The previous version of this article stated the governor extended an executive order continuing the extension and tolling of statutes of limitation and other legal time periods until Dec. 3 and has been updated with the correct information above.