A New York City law protecting debtors from harassing collection activities does not conflict with New York's power to regulate attorneys, the New York Court of Appeals held Tuesday.

The state's highest court, answering certified questions sent to it by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, said Local Law 15 does not encroach upon the state's oversight of attorneys and is not preempted by the state's Judiciary Law. The vote was 4-2, with Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman writing for the majority.

Local Law 15 was passed in 2007 to, in the words of the legislative declaration accompanying it, confront “unscrupulous collection agencies” and “abusive tactics such as threatening delinquent debtors or calling people at outrageous times of the night.” Part of the aim of the law was to curb the abusive practices of “debt bundlers” who buy debt and then pursue debtors, third parties who have no connection to the original creditor.