The state Assembly passed without discussion Thursday a bill cracking down on the fraudulent use of the Uniform Commercial Code to harass judges, court employees and public officials through attempting to attach liens to their property. Sponsors anticipated its passage in the Senate Thursday night or today. The bill, A8013/S4042, was proposed by the chief administrative judge of the state's courts, A. Gail Prudenti, in response to the growing use of a practice dubbed "paper terrorism" against public officials, including judges.
Court officials say the problem with Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings is that they must be accepted for recording and subsequently made available for public viewing, no matter their validity. Fraudulent reports sometimes make their way into credit-reporting statements and could be used to falsely characterize a target of a false filing as a credit risk, officials said (NYLJ, Feb. 25).
