A demand letter attorney for Westchester County.

UCCA § 1801 · UJCA § 1801 · $5,000 / $3,000 SMALL CLAIMS

Where a Westchester dispute goes depends on the municipality.

Westchester has six cities with their own city courts: Yonkers, White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Peekskill, and Rye. Small claims in those courts go up to $5,000 under the Uniform City Court Act. Everywhere else in the county, from Greenburgh and Scarsdale to Cortlandt, Bedford, Ossining, and Harrison, small claims are heard in the town or village justice court, limited to $3,000 under the Uniform Justice Court Act. Claims above those limits go to Westchester County Court or Supreme Court in White Plains.

Where to file is generally where the defendant lives or does business, so a Scarsdale homeowner with a $4,200 claim against a Yonkers contractor may be in Yonkers City Court, while the same claim against a Mamaroneck contractor is over the village court limit. The demand letter has no such limit, which is why it comes first. Our town and village court small claims guide explains the justice courts, and the New York small claims court guide covers the city courts and the statewide picture.

Westchester disputes we see most.

• Home-renovation contractor deposits. Westchester's housing stock, from Tudor revivals in Bronxville to colonials in Chappaqua to Victorians in Tarrytown, is in constant renovation, and the deposits are large. Westchester County licenses home-improvement contractors through its Department of Consumer Protection, and New York requires a written contract with specific terms under General Business Law § 771. A contractor who took a deposit and stalled is covered on contractor took my deposit.
• Landscaping, tree, and outdoor work. Large lots in northern Westchester mean large deposits for tree removal, stone walls, irrigation, and seasonal landscaping contracts that are paid in spring and unfinished by fall.
• Security deposits in the cities. Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, and White Plains are renter cities, with a mix of large new buildings and older multi-family houses. General Obligations Law § 7-108 requires the deposit to be returned with an itemized statement within 14 days, and landlords who miss it are in a weak position.
• Professional and consulting invoices. Westchester is home to a large population of independent consultants, designers, and contractors who work for clients in Manhattan and Connecticut. The statewide Freelance Isn't Free Act now gives them the written-contract and prompt-payment protections the city has had for years; see New York Freelance Isn't Free Act.

Small businesses and landlords in Westchester.

Westchester's small firms, from Port Chester's restaurants to Elmsford's contractors and suppliers to White Plains's professional offices, carry receivables from customers who stop paying. Commercial claims are covered on unpaid invoices for small businesses. Tenants whose landlords will not make repairs, whether in a Yonkers walk-up or a Peekskill two-family, can start at landlord won't make repairs.

How the flat-fee letter works for a Westchester address.

Hochman Law PC is based in Manhattan and serves Westchester and the rest of New York State remotely through DemandLetterNY.com. You complete an online intake and upload your documents: the contract or proposal, deposit records, texts and emails, photos, invoices, the lease. An attorney reviews the file and drafts the letter, which is sent by certified mail with return receipt to the other party's home or business address in Westchester or wherever they are, with an email copy where we have one. You receive the full package. No appointment, no trip to the city. Details at flat-fee demand letters.

For contractors, we send to the address on the county license where it differs from the proposal, and the letter can note that a complaint to the county's consumer protection office is available. Westchester contractors work by referral and take their license seriously.

What the letter does in a Westchester dispute.

The letter puts the contract, the deposit or invoice, and the failure into a single dated document, cites the statute that governs it, states the amount, and names the next step, which might be a city court filing, a justice court filing, a licensing complaint, or a County Court action for a larger claim. It gives the other side a clear choice between paying a known number and being served. It also offers a written payment or completion schedule, which converts a stalled project or a late invoice into an enforceable signed agreement.

Is it worth a letter? A Westchester example.

A homeowner in Scarsdale pays a $9,000 deposit to a contractor for a master bathroom. Demolition happens, the plumber never comes, and after six weeks the contractor stops answering. The claim is above the $3,000 justice court limit in Scarsdale and above the $5,000 city court limit even if the contractor is in Yonkers, so the filing alternative is County Court or Supreme Court. A flat-fee letter citing the written-contract statute and the county license, with a licensing complaint as the stated next step, is a small fraction of the amount and the proportionate move against a contractor still working in the county. Worth it.

A $200 disagreement with a landscaper over a final invoice for work that was done is usually not, and we will say so. See demand letter vs. small claims.

Loans and vendor deposits.

Westchester also produces personal loans between relatives and neighbors, and deposits kept by venues, caterers, photographers, and camps after a cancellation. See lent money, not paid back and vendor kept my deposit.

Timing.

Contract claims carry a six-year limitations period under CPLR § 213(2). The practical window is shorter: a contractor who is still reachable and licensed this year is the contractor you want to send a letter to.