New York State Higher Education Services Corporation v. Ince

In New York State Higher Education Services Corporation v. Ince, 194 Misc. 2d 531 (Albany County 2003), a case strikingly similar to the case at bar, the plaintiff lender filed a Satisfaction of Judgment after receiving a tax refund offset due the defendant. Later, the defendant's spouse successfully challenged the tax offset, and the spouse received a refund from the plaintiff, which caused the plaintiff in this case to seek a vacatur of its Satisfaction of Judgment. In denying the plaintiff's vacatur, the Ince court stated: Although sensitive to plaintiff's plight, that defendant's judgment has not been paid, this Court, on the papers before it, cannot vacate the satisfaction. Initially, it is noted that plaintiff provides no authority for the relief that it seeks. Further, the remedy that plaintiff seeks, vacating the satisfaction, would wreak havoc on a system that third parties rely on when extending credit and therefore public policy requires the Court to uphold the integrity and reliability of public records.