BILL NUMBER: S7721
SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to establishing a right of action for deed theft
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one sets forth the title.
Section two creates a new private right of action for cases of deed
theft, and the damages recoverable for such an action.
Section three sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
"Deed theft" is the tactic of using fraudulent or misleading tactics to
take the title, or deed, to another person's home without the homeown-
er's knowledge or approval. As real estate capital has flooded into
rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods of New York, this tactic has been
increasingly used to separate elderly homeowners and homeowners of
color-especially Black and Brown homeowners-from their homes. However,
under existing law, the complexity of these types of cases (often
involving intricate fraudulent schemes), and the fact that most impacted
persons are elderly or low-income, has led to a problem where the deed
thieves can typically outmaneuver their victims in court. This legis-
lation seeks to level the playing field, and give New Yorkers the abili-
ty to fight back against deed theft in court.
On October 27, 2022, the New York State Senate held a public hearing to
explore the problem of deed theft. At this hearing, the imbalance
between deed thieves and their victims was repeatedly highlighted by the
witnesses as a major obstacle to achieving just results in court.
Witnesses at that hearing testified that deed theft victims are typical-
ly "cash poor and they don't have the ability to hire an attorney and
fight for their rights." On the other hand, "the people that steal these
deeds generally tend to be very wealthy and employ some of the best
attorneys to frustrate" their victims. Accordingly, this legislation
seeks to level the playing field by directing courts to consider the
relative sophistication of the parties, to award attorneys' fees to deed
theft victims who prevail, and to also provide for treble damages in
appropriate circumstances to compensate victims and allow them to pursue
these types of cases in court.
At the October 2022 hearing, the Attorney General's office recommended
that the legislature should consider "strengthening protections against
unfair and deceptive business practices." Likewise, witnesses testified
that "much of the predatory activity is not clearly criminal or is too
difficult to prove" under current legal standards. Accordingly, this
legislation also explicitly provides a private right of action in cases
where there have been "unfair and deceptive" business practices by deed
thieves.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.