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§ 216.Abbreviation of period to one year after notice.

Article 2. Limitations of Time · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026

In one sentenceCPLR 216 lets a defendant facing a lawsuit over money or specific personal property notify a third party who claims the same money or property, and once that notice issues, the third party has only one year to intervene or sue before losing the right to pursue a separate claim.

Full Text of CPLR 216

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) Action to recover money.
1. No action for the recovery of any sum of money due and payable under or on account of a contract, or for any part thereof, shall be commenced by any person who has made claim to the sum, after the expiration of one year from the giving of notice, as hereinafter provided, to the claimant that an action commenced by another person is pending to recover the sum, or any part thereof, exceeding fifty dollars in amount. This limitation shall not be construed to enlarge the time within which the cause of action of the claimant would otherwise be barred.
2. If any person shall make claim for the recovery of any sum of money due and payable under or on account of a contract, and an action has theretofore been, or shall thereafter be, commenced by another person to recover the sum, or any part thereof, exceeding fifty dollars in amount, the defendant in such action may, within twenty days from the date of service upon him of the complaint or from the date of receipt by him of the claim, whichever occurs later, make a motion before the court in which the action is pending for an order permitting the defendant to give notice to the claimant that the action is pending. The court in which the action is pending shall grant the order where it appears that a person not a party to the action has made claim against the defendant for the sum of money, or any part thereof, exceeding fifty dollars in amount; that the action was brought without collusion between the defendant and the plaintiff; and that the claimant cannot, with due diligence, be served with process in such a manner as to obtain jurisdiction over his person. The order shall provide, among such other terms and conditions as justice may require, that notice shall be given to the claimant by sending by registered mail a copy of the summons and complaint in the action and the order and a notice addressed to the claimant at his last known address. In the event that registration of mail directed to any country or part thereof shall be discontinued or suspended, notice to a claimant whose last known address is within such country or part thereof shall be given by ordinary mail, under such terms and conditions as the court may direct. Proof that the notice has been mailed shall be filed within ten days from the date of the order; otherwise the order becomes inoperative. Upon such filing, notice shall be deemed to have been given on the tenth day after the date of such order.
3. Upon proof by affidavit or otherwise, to the satisfaction of the court, that the conditions of this subdivision have been satisfied and that there is no collusion between the claimant and the defendant, the court shall make an order staying further prosecution of the action for a period not to exceed one year from the date when the notice shall have been given to the claimant. At the time of the granting of such order or at any time thereafter, the court, upon the motion of any party, shall, as a condition of the granting of the order or its continuation, impose upon the defendant such terms as justice may require as to the furnishing of an undertaking in an amount to be fixed by the court. The stay shall be vacated and the undertaking, if any has been given, may be discharged or modified, as justice may require, upon proof to the court by any party to the action that the claimant has intervened or has instituted another action in any court of this state to recover the said sum of money, or any part thereof, exceeding fifty dollars.
4. A motion for any relief as prescribed in this subdivision shall be made on notice to all other parties to the action.
5. Whenever claims are made by two or more persons, each claiming to be, to the exclusion of the other, the duly authorized deputy, officer or agent to demand, receive, collect, sue for or recover the same sum of money due and payable under or on account of a contract, or any part thereof, exceeding fifty dollars in amount, for and on behalf of the same person, each person making such a claim shall be deemed an adverse claimant. Notwithstanding that an action has been commenced in the name of or on behalf of the person for whom he claims to be the duly authorized deputy, officer or agent, any such adverse claimant may be notified of the pendency of an action as provided in this subdivision and may intervene in the action and be designated as claiming to be or as the alleged deputy, officer or agent.
6. Whenever an action has been commenced for the recovery of any sum of money exceeding fifty dollars due and payable under or on account of a contract and the records of the defendant show that a person other than the plaintiff has the right, exclusive of other deputies, officers or agents of the plaintiff, to demand, sue for and recover the same sum of money, or any part thereof, exceeding fifty dollars in amount, either in his own name, on his own behalf, or as the authorized deputy, officer or agent for the plaintiff, and the defendant has received no notice of transfer, revocation, or other change in right or authority acceptable to it, the person so appearing on the records shall be deemed to have made an adverse claim to the sum of money and may be treated as an adverse claimant.
(b) Action to recover property. When an action has been commenced to recover specific personal property, including certificates of stocks, bonds, notes or other securities or obligations, exceeding fifty dollars in value, held by the defendant within the state, or to enforce a vested or contingent interest or lien upon such property, and a person not a party to the action asserts a claim to the whole or any part of the same property or to a right, interest or lien upon it which is adverse to the plaintiff’s claim, and the court in which the action is pending has no jurisdiction over the adverse claimant to direct the issuance of process or if the same be issued it would be without effect notwithstanding that the action seeks to have declared, enforced, regulated, defined or limited, rights, interests or liens upon specific personal property within the state, the defendant in the action may within twenty days from the date of service upon him of the complaint or within twenty days of the date of the receipt by him of the adverse claim, whichever shall occur later, make a motion before the court for leave to give notice to the adverse claimant of the pending action in the same manner as provided in subdivision (a). Upon the granting of such an order, the provisions of subdivision (a) shall apply insofar as they are compatible with the subject matter of the action.
End

Plain-English Summary

CPLR 216 solves a practical problem: a defendant sued over a debt or specific property sometimes faces a separate, unserved claimant asserting a competing right to that same money or property. Left unresolved, that risks the defendant paying twice or handing over property to the wrong party. CPLR 1006's interpleader procedure handles this when the court has jurisdiction over the competing claimant; CPLR 216 provides a substitute mechanism for when that claimant can't be reached through ordinary process.

For claims to money (subdivision a), a defendant may move within twenty days of being served, or of receiving the competing claim if later, for permission to notify the claimant by mail. The court grants the motion on a showing that the underlying suit isn't collusive and that the claimant can't, with due diligence, be served in a way that gives the court jurisdiction over them. Once notice issues, the claimant has one year to intervene in the pending action or bring a separate suit, or lose the right to pursue the claim at all. The court can stay the underlying action during that year and require security as a condition of the stay.

Subdivision (b) extends the same procedure to actions to recover specific personal property — stocks, bonds, notes, and similar instruments worth more than fifty dollars — where the court lacks jurisdiction over the adverse claimant.

CPLR 216 works as a limited substitute for interpleader when personal jurisdiction over the true claimant isn't available, and it modifies the ordinary accrual and computation rules found in CPLR 213 and 214 for that adverse claimant specifically, by capping their separate window at one year from notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPLR 216 for?

It lets a defendant notify a third party who claims the same disputed money or property, capping that third party's own time to sue at one year after notice.

How is CPLR 216 different from interpleader?

Interpleader under CPLR 1006 works when the court has jurisdiction over the competing claimant; CPLR 216 is a substitute mechanism for when that claimant can't be reached with process to bring them directly into the case.

Does CPLR 216 apply beyond claims to money?

Yes. Subdivision (b) extends the same procedure to claims for specific personal property, including stocks, bonds, and notes, worth more than fifty dollars.

How long does the notified claimant have to act?

One year from when notice is given to intervene in the action or bring a separate suit.

Can the underlying lawsuit be paused while this notice procedure plays out?

Yes. The court can stay further prosecution of the action, for up to one year, and may require the defendant to post security as a condition.

Advisory Committee Notes

This section, with slight changes, is derived from CPA §§ 51-a and 51-b. While the CPA sections required mailing the notice by registered mail, the CPLR section provides for mailing by registered or certified mail.

The entire section is awkward and serves little purpose but it is retained as a stopgap with substantially no change until such time as the interpleader statute and the interstate compact or some equivalent device becomes fully operative. See Prashker, New York Practice § 289 (3d ed 1954); Solicitor for Affairs of His Majesty’s Treasury v Bankers Trust Co. 304 NY 282, 107 NE2d 448 (1952); see also Note on Statute of Limitations and Adverse Claims to Money–CPA § 51-a, in Prashker, Supplement to Cases and Materials on New York Pleading and Practice 300-03 (1942).

Amendment History

Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1963, ch 532, § 7, eff Sept 1, 1963.

Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York. Last verified July 21, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: New York adverse claimant notice statutecompeting claim to same debt New York lawsuitinterpleader alternative New York civil procedureone year notice rule New York adverse claim