On December 17, 2014, the Governor of New York signed the legislation enacting the 2010 Amendments to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and Revised Articles 1 and 7. The new law took effect immediately. As New York did not include the transition rules of the 2010 Amendments, secured parties filing in New York must be in compliance with the individual debtor name standard of Alternative A, the “only if” approach, beginning December 17, 2014. The new law only applies to transactions entered into on or after the effective date; however, questions remain about the status of a pre-effective date filing that is not in compliance with the 2010 Amendments. On its face, the law appears to allow pre-effective date, yet non-compliant, filings to remain effective under the former law until such time as they would lapse or be continued. Nevertheless, some have argued that the new law has triggered a debtor name change under Section 9-507(c), which would require a secured party to amend its filing on or before April 17, 2015, to avoid becoming unperfected on after-acquired collateral. Additionally, New York has not adopted the 2011 form revisions as it continues to require that a financing statement provide the type and jurisdiction of an organization. This is an issue for secured parties filing on trusts or estates as the prior forms do not allow for the information now required by Section 9-503(a)(2) and (3). For advice on filing in New York, please contact John McGarvey, 502-560-6759, or Mindy Sunderland, 502-560-6775.
