‘Worthy’ Clarifies Rights of Secured Creditors Under UCC

The Commission on Judicial Nomination submitted seven candidates to Gov. Kathy Hochul for consideration for appointment as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals after former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore stepped down as of Aug. 31, 2022. The seven candidates are Judge Anthony Cannataro, acting Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals; Professor Abbe Gluck of Yale Law School; Justice Hector LaSalle, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department; Justice Jeffrey Oing, Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department; Dean Alicia Ouellette of Albany Law School; Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives; and Corey Stoughton, Esq. of the Legal Aid Society. The candidates have been reviewed and rated by a variety of bar associations and, as of the date of writing, Governor Hochul had not made her selection and has until December 23 to announce her nominee for approval by the State Senate.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals continues to hear cases and recently issued a decision clarifying the rights of secured creditors under New York’s Uniform Commercial Code. In a unanimous decision in Worthy Lending v. New Style Contactors, written by Judge Rowan D. Wilson, the Court held that the holder of a presently exercisable security interest in a debtor’s receivables is included within the ambit of an “assignee” entitled under UCC 9-406 to receive payments directly from an account debtor after providing the account debtor with notice of the assignment.