Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York
Can I have a bench warrant for not paying for a piece of jewelry financed over 9 years ago? If so why wasn't I served with a notice?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, a warrant could have been issued.If you never paid for the jewelry, the seller (or finance company) could have sued you and obtained a judgment on default.If the ring was sufficiently valuable, the seller might have attempted to satisfy the debt by undertaking various enforcement proceedings.If all enforcement proceedings failed, the last step would be for the seller to request that you be held in contempt of court, which would have resulted in the arrest warrant.
However, precious few cases ever go that far because the time and legal fees involved to go the distance are entirely cost-prohibitive. Even if you purchased a $7,500.00 ring, it's hard for me to imagine that the case would ever reach an arrest warrant. It would have become clear to the seller over the course of the proceedings that recovering on the judgment was a lost cause and that the seller was "chasing bad money with good."
Hope this was helpful.