Justice David Elliot
City of New York Human Resources Administration (HRA) moved to vacate a restraining notice to garnishee. A default judgment was obtained against judgment debtor Mostafa by judgment creditor Legal Servicing LLC (LS). LS claimed HRA was indebted to Mostafa. The alleged funds were payments of public assistance rent subsidy checks issued on Mostafa’s behalf distributed to Mostafa on the welfare recipient’s behalf to secure housing. It alleged LS was statutorily prohibited from attaching the shelter subsidy benefits to satisfy its judgment. LS argued the Social Services Law was inapplicable as it did not proscribe enforcement of a judgment when the judgment debtor was not the recipient of public assistance, an issue of apparent first impression. The court found the legislature was clear, that exemption applied to money granted to persons as public assistance. It concluded the rent subsidy was the property of the welfare recipient despite the money being used for payment of rent to the judgment debtor. The court noted the HRA was not a garnishee of the judgment debtor, noting an exception no longer applied once the rent subsidy checks were endorsed by the judgment debtor. The court granted HRA’s motion.