New York Civil Practice
Law & Rules
NYCPLR Article 50
JUDGMENTS GENERALLY
5001. Interest to verdict, report or decision.
(a) Actions in which recoverable.
(b) Date from which computed.
(c) Specifying date; computing interest.
5002. Interest from verdict, report or decision to judgment.
5003. Interest upon judgment.
5003-a. Prompt payment following settlement.
5004. Rate of interest.
5011. Definition and content of judgment.
5012. Judgment upon part of cause of action; upon several
causes.
5013. Effect of judgment dismissing claim.
5014. Action upon judgment.
5015. Relief from judgment or order.
(a) On motion.
(b) On stipulation.
(c) On application of an administrative judge.
(d) Restitution.
5016. Entry of judgment.
(a) What constitutes entry.
(b) Judgment upon verdict.
(c) Judgment upon decision.
(d) After death of party.
(e) Final judgment after interlocutory judgment.
5017. Judgment-roll.
(a) Preparation and filing.
(b) Content.
5018. Docketing of judgment.
(a) Docketing by clerk; docketing elsewhere by
transcript.
(b) Docketing of judgment of court of United States.
(c) Form of docketing.
5019. Validity and correction of judgment or order; amendment
of docket.
(a) Validity and correction of judgment or order.
(b) Subsequent judgment or order affecting judgment or
lien.
(c) Change in judgment creditor.
(d) Certificate of county clerk.
5020. Satisfaction-piece.
(a) Generally.
(b) Attorney of record.
5020-a. Payment of judgment in certain cases.
5021. Entry of satisfaction.
(a) Entry upon satisfaction-piece, court order,
deposit into court, discharge of compounding
joint debtor.
(b) Entry upon return of execution.
(c) Entry upon certificate.
S 5001. Interest to verdict, report or decision. (a) Actions in which
recoverable. Interest shall be recovered upon a sum awarded because of a
breach of performance of a contract, or because of an act or omission
depriving or otherwise interfering with title to, or possession or
enjoyment of, property, except that in an action of an equitable nature,
interest and the rate and date from which it shall be computed shall be
in the court`s discretion.
(b) Date from which computed. Interest shall be computed from the
earliest ascertainable date the cause of action existed, except that
interest upon damages incurred thereafter shall be computed from the
date incurred. Where such damages were incurred at various times,
interest shall be computed upon each item from the date it was incurred
or upon all of the damages from a single reasonable intermediate date.
(c) Specifying date; computing interest. The date from which interest
is to be computed shall be specified in the verdict, report or decision.
If a jury is discharged without specifying the date, the court upon
motion shall fix the date, except that where the date is certain and not
in dispute, the date may be fixed by the clerk of the court upon
affidavit. The amount of interest shall be computed by the clerk of the
court, to the date the verdict was rendered or the report or decision
was made, and included in the total sum awarded.
S 5002. Interest from verdict, report or decision to judgment.
Interest shall be recovered upon the total sum awarded, including
interest to verdict, report or decision, in any action, from the date
the verdict was rendered or the report or decision was made to the date
of entry of final judgment. The amount of interest shall be computed by
the clerk of the court and included in the judgment.
S 5003. Interest upon judgment. Every money judgment shall bear
interest from the date of its entry. Every order directing the payment
of money which has been docketed as a judgment shall bear interest from
the date of such docketing.
S 5003-a. Prompt payment following settlement. (a) When an action to
recover damages has been settled, any settling defendant, except those
defendants to whom subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section apply, shall
pay all sums due to any settling plaintiff within twenty-one days of
tender, by the settling plaintiff to the settling defendant, of a duly
executed release and a stipulation discontinuing action executed on
behalf of the settling plaintiff.
(b) When an action to recover damages has been settled and the
settling defendant is a municipality or any subdivision thereof, or any
public corporation that is not indemnified by the state, it shall pay
all sums due to any settling plaintiff within ninety days of tender, by
the settling plaintiff to it, of duly executed release and a stipulation
discontinuing action executed on behalf of the settling plaintiff. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not inure to the benefit of any
insurance carrier for a municipality or any subdivision thereof, or any
public corporation that is not indemnified by the state. Any such
insurance carrier shall pay all sums due to any settling plaintiff in
accordance with the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section.
(c) When an action to recover damages has been settled and the
settling defendant is the state, an officer or employee of the state
entitled to indemnification pursuant to section seventeen of the public
officers law, or a public benefit corporation indemnified by the state,
payment of all sums due to any settling plaintiff shall be made within
ninety days of the comptroller`s determination that all papers required
to effectuate the settlement have been received by him. The provisions
of this paragraph shall not inure to the benefit of any insurance
carrier for the state, an officer or employee of the state entitled to
indemnification pursuant to section seventeen of the public officers
law, or a public benefit corporation indemnified by the state. Any such
insurance carrier shall pay all sums due to any settling plaintiff in
accordance with the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section.
(d) In an action which requires judicial approval of settlement, other
than an action to which subdivision (c) of this section applies, the
plaintiff shall also tender a copy of the order approving such
settlement with the duly executed release and stipulation discontinuing
action executed on behalf of the plaintiff.
(e) In the event that a settling defendant fails to promptly pay all
sums as required by subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of this section, any
unpaid plaintiff may enter judgment, without further notice, against
such settling defendant who has not paid. The judgment shall be for the
amount set forth in the release, together with costs and lawful
disbursements, and interest on the amount set forth in the release from
the date that the release and stipulation discontinuing action were
tendered.
(f) Nothing in this section shall apply to settlements subject to
article seventy-four of the insurance law or to future installment
payments to be paid pursuant to a structured settlement agreement.
(g) The term "tender", as used herein, shall mean either to personally
deliver or to mail, by registered or certified mail, return receipt
requested.
S 5004. Rate of interest. Interest shall be at the rate of nine per
centum per annum, except where otherwise provided by statute.
S 5011. Definition and content of judgment. A judgment is the
determination of the rights of the parties in an action or special
proceeding and may be either interlocutory or final. A judgment shall
refer to, and state the result of, the verdict or decision, or recite
the default upon which it is based. A judgment may direct that property
be paid into court when the party would not have the benefit or use or
control of such property or where special circumstances make it
desirable that payment or delivery to the party entitled to it should be
withheld. In any case where damages are awarded to an inmate serving a
sentence of imprisonment with the state department of correctional
services or to a prisoner confined at a local correctional facility, the
court shall give prompt written notice to the state crime victims board,
and at the same time shall direct that no payment be made to such inmate
or prisoner for a period of thirty days following the date of entry of
the order containing such direction.
Rule 5012. Judgment upon part of cause of action; upon several causes.
The court, having ordered a severance, may direct judgment upon a part
of a cause of action or upon one or more causes of action as to one or
more parties.
Rule 5013. Effect of judgment dismissing claim. A judgment dismissing
a cause of action before the close of the proponent`s evidence is not a
dismissal on the merits unless it specifies otherwise, but a judgment
dismissing a cause of action after the close of the proponent`s evidence
is a dismissal on the merits unless it specifies otherwise.
S 5014. Action upon judgment. Except as permitted by section 15-102 of
the general obligations law, an action upon a money judgment entered in
a court of the state may only be maintained between the original parties
to the judgment where:
1. ten years have elapsed since the first docketing of the judgment;
or
2. the judgment was entered against the defendant by default for want
of appearance and the summons was served other than by personal delivery
to him or to his agent for service designated under rule 318, either
within or without the state; or
3. the court in which the action is sought to be brought so orders on
motion with such notice to such other persons as the court may direct.
An action may be commenced under subdivision one of this section
during the year prior to the expiration of ten years since the first
docketing of the judgment. The judgment in such action shall be
designated a renewal judgment and shall be so docketed by the clerk. The
lien of a renewal judgment shall take effect upon the expiration of ten
years from the first docketing of the original judgment.
Rule 5015. Relief from judgment or order. (a) On motion. The court
which rendered a judgment or order may relieve a party from it upon such
terms as may be just, on motion of any interested person with such
notice as the court may direct, upon the ground of:
1. excusable default, if such motion is made within one year after
service of a copy of the judgment or order with written notice of its
entry upon the moving party, or, if the moving party has entered the
judgment or order, within one year after such entry; or
2. newly-discovered evidence which, if introduced at the trial, would
probably have produced a different result and which could not have been
discovered in time to move for a new trial under section 4404; or
3. fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party;
or
4. lack of jurisdiction to render the judgment or order; or
5. reversal, modification or vacatur of a prior judgment or order upon
which it is based.
(b) On stipulation. The clerk of the court may vacate a default
judgment entered pursuant to section 3215 upon the filing with him of a
stipulation of consent to such vacatur by the parties personally or by
their attorneys.
(c) On application of an administrative judge. An administrative
judge, upon a showing that default judgments were obtained by fraud,
misrepresentation, illegality, unconscionability, lack of due service,
violations of law, or other illegalities or where such default judgments
were obtained in cases in which those defendants would be uniformly
entitled to interpose a defense predicated upon but not limited to the
foregoing defenses, and where such default judgments have been obtained
in a number deemed sufficient by him to justify such action as set forth
herein, and upon appropriate notice to counsel for the respective
parties, or to the parties themselves, may bring a proceeding to relieve
a party or parties from them upon such terms as may be just. The
disposition of any proceeding so instituted shall be determined by a
judge other than the administrative judge.
(d) Restitution. Where a judgment or order is set aside or vacated,
the court may direct and enforce restitution in like manner and subject
to the same conditions as where a judgment is reversed or modified on
appeal.
Rule 5016. Entry of judgment. (a) What constitutes entry. A judgment
is entered when, after it has been signed by the clerk, it is filed by
him.
(b) Judgment upon verdict. Judgment upon the general verdict of a
jury after a trial by jury as of right shall be entered by the clerk
unless the court otherwise directs; if there is a special verdict, the
court shall direct entry of an appropriate judgment.
(c) Judgment upon decision. Judgment upon the decision of a court or
a referee to determine shall be entered by the clerk as directed
therein. When relief other than for money or costs only is granted, the
court or referee shall, on motion, determine the form of the judgment.
(d) After death of party. No verdict or decision shall be rendered
against a deceased party, but if a party dies before entry of judgment
and after a verdict, decision or accepted offer to compromise pursuant
to rule 3221, judgment shall be entered in the names of the original
parties unless the verdict, decision or offer is set aside. This
provision shall not bar dismissal of an action or appeal pursuant to
section 1021.
(e) Final judgment after interlocutory judgment. Where an
interlocutory judgment has been directed, a party may move for final
judgment when he becomes entitled thereto.

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Article 50 Continued . . .
Rule 5017. Judgment-roll. (a) Preparation and filing. A
judgment-roll shall be prepared by the attorney for the party at whose
instance the judgment is entered or by the clerk. It shall be filed by
the clerk when he enters judgment, and shall state the date and time of
its filing.
(b) Content. The judgment-roll shall contain the summons, pleadings,
admissions, each judgment and each order involving the merits or
necessarily affecting the final judgment. If the judgment was taken by
default, it shall also contain the proof required by subdivision (f) of
section 3215 and the result of any assessment, account or reference
under subdivision (b) of section 3215. If a trial was had, it shall also
contain the verdict or decision, any tender or offer made pursuant to
rules 3219, 3220 or 3221, and any transcript of proceedings then on
file. If any appeal was taken, it shall also contain the determination
and opinion of each appellate court and the papers on which each appeal
was heard. In an action to recover a chattel, it shall also contain the
sheriff`s return. In an action on submitted facts under rule 3222, the
judgment-roll shall consist of the case, submission, affidavit, each
judgment and each order necessarily affecting the final judgment. The
judgment-roll of a judgment by confession under section 3218 shall
consist of the affidavit and a copy of the judgment.
S 5018. Docketing of judgment. (a) Docketing by clerk; docketing
elsewhere by transcript. Immediately after filing the judgment-roll the
clerk shall docket a money judgment, and at the request of any party
specifying the particular adverse party or parties against whom
docketing shall be made, the clerk shall so docket a judgment affecting
the title to real property, provided, however, that where the clerk
maintains a section and block index, a judgment affecting the title to,
or the possession, use or enjoyment of, real property may be entered in
such index in lieu thereof. If the judgment is upon a joint liability of
two or more persons the words "not summoned" shall be written next to
the name of each defendant who was not summoned. Upon the filing of a
transcript of the docket of a judgment of a court other than the
supreme, county or a family court, the clerk of the county in which the
judgment was entered shall docket the judgment. Upon the filing of a
transcript of the docket of a judgment which has been docketed in the
office of the clerk of the county in which it was entered, the clerk of
any other county in the state shall docket the judgment. Whenever a
county clerk dockets a judgment by transcript under this subdivision, he
shall notify the clerk who issued it, who, upon receiving such
notification, shall make an entry on the docket of the judgment in his
office indicating where the transcript has been filed. A judgment
docketed by transcript under this subdivision shall have the same effect
as a docketed judgment entered in the supreme court within the county
where it is docketed.
(b) Docketing of judgment of court of United States. A transcript of
the judgment of a court of the United States rendered or filed within
the state may be filed in the office of the clerk of any county and upon
such filing the clerk shall docket the judgment in the same manner and
with the same effect as a judgment entered in the supreme court within
the county.
(c) Form of docketing. A judgment is docketed by making an entry in
the proper docket book as follows:
1. under the surname of the judgment debtor first named in the
judgment, the entry shall consist of:
(i) the name and last known address of each judgment debtor and his
trade or profession if stated in the judgment;
(ii) the name and last known address of the judgment creditor;
(iii) the sum recovered or directed to be paid in figures;
(iv) the date and time the judgment-roll was filed;
(v) the date and time of docketing;
(vi) the court and county in which judgment was entered; and
(vii) the name and office address of the attorney for the judgment
creditor;
2. under the surname of every other judgment debtor, if any, the entry
shall consist of his name and last known address and an appropriate
cross-reference to the first entry.
If no address is known for the judgment debtor or judgment creditor,
an affidavit executed by the party at whose instance the judgment is
docketed or his attorney shall be filed stating that the affiant has no
knowledge of an address.
(d) A county clerk may adopt a new docketing system utilizing
electro-mechanical, electronic or any other method he deems suitable for
maintaining the dockets.
S 5019. Validity and correction of judgment or order; amendment of
docket. (a) Validity and correction of judgment or order. A judgment or
order shall not be stayed, impaired or affected by any mistake, defect
or irregularity in the papers or procedures in the action not affecting
a substantial right of a party. A trial or an appellate court may
require the mistake, defect or irregularity to be cured.
(b) Subsequent judgment or order affecting judgment or lien. When a
docketed judgment or the lien thereof is affected in any way by a
subsequent order or judgment or retaxation of costs, the clerk of the
court in which the judgment was entered shall make an appropriate entry
on the docket of the judgment. In the case of a judgment of a court
other than the supreme, county or a family court which has been docketed
by the clerk of the county in which it was entered, such county clerk
shall make an appropriate entry on his docket upon the filing of a
certified copy of the order or judgment effecting the change or a
certificate of the change issued by the clerk of the court in which the
judgment was entered. Unless the order or judgment effecting the change
otherwise provides, the duration of the judgment lien on real property
shall be measured from the filing of the judgment-roll.
(c) Change in judgment creditor. A person other than the party
recovering a judgment who becomes entitled to enforce it, shall file in
the office of the clerk of the court in which the judgment was entered
or, in the case of a judgment of a court other than the supreme, county
or a family court which has been docketed by the clerk of the county in
which it was entered, in the office of such county clerk, a copy of the
instrument on which his authority is based, acknowledged in the form
required to entitle a deed to be recorded, or, if his authority is based
on a court order, a certified copy of the order. Upon such filing the
clerk shall make an appropriate entry on his docket of the judgment.
(d) Certificate of county clerk. Upon the filing of a certificate of
change of the docket of any judgment docketed with the clerk of the
county in which it was entered, issued by such county clerk, the clerk
of any court or county where the judgment has been docketed shall make
an appropriate entry on his docket of the judgment.
S 5020. Satisfaction-piece. (a) Generally. When a person entitled to
enforce a judgment receives satisfaction or partial satisfaction of the
judgment, he shall execute and file with the proper clerk pursuant to
subdivision (a) of section 5021, a satisfaction-piece or partial
satisfaction-piece acknowledged in the form required to entitle a deed
to be recorded, which shall set forth the book and page where the
judgment is docketed. A copy of the satisfaction-piece or partial
satisfaction-piece filed with the clerk shall be mailed to the judgment
debtor by the person entitled to enforce the judgment within ten days
after the date of filing.
(b) Attorney of record. Within ten years after the entry of a judgment
the attorney of record or the attorney named on the docket for the
judgment creditor may execute a satisfaction-piece or a partial
satisfaction-piece, but if his authority was revoked before it was
executed, the judgment may nevertheless be enforced against a person who
had actual notice of the revocation before a payment on the judgment was
made or a purchase of property bound by it was effected.
(c) When the judgment is fully satisfied, if the person required to
execute and file with the proper clerk pursuant to subdivisions (a) and
(d) hereof fails or refuses to do so within twenty days after receiving
full satisfaction, then the judgment creditor shall be subject to a
penalty of one hundred dollars recoverable by the judgment debtor
pursuant to Section 7202 of the civil practice law and rules or article
eighteen of either the New York City civil court act, uniform district
court act or uniform city court act; provided, however, that such
penalty shall not be recoverable when a city with a population greater
than one million persons is the judgment creditor, unless such judgment
creditor shall fail to execute and file a satisfaction-piece with the
proper clerk pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (d) hereof within twenty
days after having been served by the judgment debtor with a written
demand therefor by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(d) Where a transcript of the docket of a judgment has been docketed
in any other county of the state pursuant to subdivision (a) of section
5018, the person required to execute and file with the proper clerk
pursuant to subdivision (a) hereof shall, upon receiving full
satisfaction, file a certificate of the clerk of the county in which the
judgment was entered, in accordance with subdivision (c) of section
5021, with the clerks of all other counties in which such judgment has
been docketed.
S 5020-a. Payment of judgment in certain cases. When a judgment debtor
has shown to the satisfaction of the clerk of the court from which an
execution has been issued that a sum of money which satisfies the
judgment had been sent to the last known address of the judgment
creditor by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, but
was returned as unclaimed or undeliverable by the post office, the
judgment debtor may deposit with the clerk of such court a certified
check in an amount equal to the sum of money which satisfies the
judgment. Upon receipt of such check any additional charges relating to
an execution shall cease to accrue against the judgment debtor and the
clerk shall forthwith notify each sheriff to whom an execution was
issued that such execution is hereby rescinded. Such notice shall not be
effective upon the sheriff until its receipt by him from the clerk.
Provided, however, no entry of the satisfaction on the docket of the
judgment made be made by the clerk except pursuant to the provisions of
section 5021.
S 5021. Entry of satisfaction. (a) Entry upon satisfaction-piece,
court order, deposit into court, discharge of compounding joint debtor.
The clerk of the court in which the judgment was entered or, in the case
of a judgment of a court other than the supreme, county or a family
court which has been docketed by the clerk of the county in which it was
entered, such county clerk, shall make an entry of the satisfaction or
partial satisfaction on the docket of the judgment upon:
1. the filing of a satisfaction-piece or partial satisfaction-piece;
or
2. the order of the court, made upon motion with such notice to other
persons as the court may require, when the judgment has been wholly or
partially satisfied but the judgment debtor cannot furnish the clerk
with a satisfaction-piece or partial satisfaction-piece; or
3. the deposit with the clerk of a sum of money which satisfies or
partially satisfies the judgment pursuant to an order of the court, made
upon motion with such notice to other persons as the court may require,
permitting such deposit; such an order shall not be made unless the
court is satisfied that there are no outstanding executions on which
sheriff`s fees have not been paid; or
4. the filing of an instrument specified in article eight of the
debtor and creditor law, executed by a creditor releasing or discharging
a compounding joint debtor; in such case, the entry on the docket of the
judgment shall state that the judgment is satisfied as to the
compounding debtor only.
(b) Entry upon return of execution. A sheriff shall return an
execution to the clerk of the court from which the execution issued if
such execution is wholly or partially satisfied, and the clerk shall
make an appropriate entry on his docket of the judgment. The sheriff
shall also deliver to the person making payment, upon request, a
certified copy of the execution and of the return of satisfaction or
partial satisfaction. Upon the filing of such copy with the clerk of the
county where the execution was satisfied, such clerk shall enter
satisfaction or partial satisfaction on his docket of the judgment.
Provided however that, in addition, a return of execution arising out of
an action brought pursuant to article eighteen of the New York city
civil court act, article eighteen of the uniform city court act, article
eighteen of the uniform district court act, or article eighteen of the
uniform justice court act shall be made and entered whether wholly or
partially satisfied, or unsatisfied, within ninety days after receipt of
the judgment by the sheriff and the clerk shall make an appropriate
entry on his docket of the judgment.
(c) Entry upon certificate. Upon the filing of a certificate of the
clerk of the county in which the judgment was entered, stating that the
judgment has been wholly or partially satisfied, the clerk of any court
or county where a judgment has been docketed shall make an appropriate
entry on his docket of the judgment.