New York City Civil Court Act: Filing, Trial, and Appeals

The New York City Civil Court rules and procedures govern civil disputes worth up to $50,000, exclusive of interest and costs, across all five boroughs.¹ It is the court for breach of contract claims, personal injury cases, property damage, debt collection, landlord-tenant disputes, and small claims. Procedures are faster and less formal than in Supreme Court, but the deadlines are firm and the enforcement rules are technical enough that mistakes can cost you the case or the money.

What Cases Belong Here

Anything above the $50,000 ceiling has to go to Supreme Court. Within the cap, the Civil Court hears the standard run of civil actions and also handles replevin (recovery of personal property) and enforcement of liens on personal property.² It has limited equity powers: real property actions, ejectment, and actions to rescind or reform a contract, as long as the amount stays under $50,000.¹ It does not issue permanent injunctions or broad declaratory relief. If your case needs that kind of remedy, file in Supreme Court instead.

You file in the borough where the dispute arose or where the defendant resides or does business. The court can also issue orders of protection in harassment situations.

Housing Part

The Housing Part handles nonpayment proceedings, holdovers, lease violations, and disputes over conditions and repairs. A separate Resolution Part lets landlords and tenants try to reach a settlement in front of a judge or court attorney before the case is sent out for trial.³

Small Claims

Small Claims Court is for individuals suing for up to $10,000.⁴ No lawyer is required, evidence rules are relaxed, and cases are heard in evening sessions. Filing fees are $15 for claims up to $1,000 and $20 for claims above that.⁵ Most cases are decided by an arbitrator, and the decision is binding and final.³ Every borough runs a mediation program as an alternative.

Commercial Claims

Commercial Claims Court is the business version of Small Claims. A corporation, partnership, or association with its principal office in New York State can sue for up to $10,000 without a lawyer, capped at five new cases per month per claimant.⁶ Same informal procedures, same evening scheduling.

Deadlines to Sue

Before you file anything, check that your claim isn’t time-barred. A late filing gets dismissed no matter how strong the underlying case is. The common limits:

These run from the date the claim arose, not from when you discovered the harm, with narrow exceptions for fraud and certain toxic exposures. If you’re close to the wire, file first and clean up the details after.

Filing and Fees

A regular civil action starts when the plaintiff files a summons and complaint with the court clerk. The complaint states what happened, why the defendant owes you, and what you’re seeking. The filing fee for the first paper in a civil action is $45.⁹

The Civil Court uses the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF) for certain case types and counties, but only on a consent basis. All parties have to agree to use it. Where consent is in place and the case type is authorized, attorneys and self-represented parties can file PDF documents online at any hour.¹⁰ Otherwise you file paper copies at the clerk’s office.

If you can’t afford the fees, you can apply for a fee waiver by filing an affidavit that describes your income, assets, the nature of the case, and enough facts to show your claim has merit. When a legal aid society or nonprofit legal services organization represents you and certifies that you can’t afford the costs, filing fees are waived automatically without a motion.¹¹

Serving the Defendant and the Answer Window

After filing, the plaintiff has to deliver the summons and complaint to the defendant using the methods set out in the CPLR. The cleanest method is personal delivery: someone who is not a party to the case and is at least 18 hands the papers to the defendant.¹² When personal delivery isn’t possible, alternatives include leaving the papers with a suitable person at the defendant’s home or workplace and mailing a copy, or affixing them to the door in some cases. Each alternative has its own statutory requirements, and getting them wrong makes the service defective.

The defendant’s answer deadline depends on how they were served. Personal, hand-to-hand delivery inside the state triggers a 20-day answer window. Every other method, including delivery to a suitable person, nail-and-mail, and out-of-state service, gives the defendant 30 days.¹³ Rather than answering, the defendant can file a pre-answer motion to dismiss.

Discovery and Settlement

Once the pleadings close, both sides exchange documents, written interrogatories, and depositions. Most civil cases settle somewhere in this phase, once each side sees what the evidence actually looks like.

The court pushes settlement actively. Housing cases get the Resolution Part. Small Claims has borough-level mediation programs.³ A negotiated resolution avoids the cost and uncertainty of trial and generally produces something both sides can live with.

Trial

Most Civil Court trials are bench trials. You can demand a jury, but the demand has to be in writing, filed within the CPLR’s timeframe, and accompanied by the additional fee. A late demand or one without the fee is waived. Jury trials are uncommon here in practice because the factual questions are usually straightforward.

The formal rules of evidence apply in regular Civil Court cases; they are relaxed in Small Claims. After both sides rest, the judge (or jury) renders a verdict.

Default Judgments

If the defendant doesn’t answer or appear, the plaintiff can seek a default judgment. Defaults are routine in debt collection and landlord-tenant matters, but they come with safeguards.

Before the court enters any default, the plaintiff has to file an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service, as required by the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If the defendant is an active servicemember, the court can’t enter the default until it appoints an attorney to represent them. If military status can’t be determined, the court may require a bond.¹⁴

A defendant who has been defaulted can move to vacate. The usual ground is excusable default: a reasonable excuse for not appearing plus a potentially valid defense. That motion must be filed within one year of service of the judgment with notice of entry. Other grounds include newly discovered evidence, fraud by the other party, and lack of jurisdiction.¹⁵

Appeals

Civil Court decisions are appealed to the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court. Which Appellate Term hears the case depends on borough: the First Department covers Manhattan and the Bronx; the Second Department covers Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. The Appellate Term reviews the record, briefs, and oral argument and decides whether to affirm, reverse, or modify.

The notice of appeal has to be filed within 30 days after the losing party is served with the judgment or order and written notice of entry.¹⁶ Miss it and the right to appeal is gone. The appellant also has to put the record on appeal together, including relevant documents and transcripts.

Staying Enforcement During Appeal

Filing an appeal doesn’t automatically stop the winning party from enforcing the judgment. To get a stay, the appellant posts an undertaking (a bond) guaranteeing payment if the appeal fails. For a money judgment, the undertaking has to equal the full judgment amount. Once it’s filed and the notice of appeal is served, enforcement is stayed without a separate court order.¹⁷ If you can’t afford the bond, you can ask the court for a discretionary stay, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get one.

Enforcing a Judgment

Winning and collecting are two different things. When the losing party won’t pay, the CPLR offers several tools.

Execution on Property

An execution directs the sheriff to seize and sell the debtor’s property to satisfy the judgment. It has to specify the judgment amount, the applicable interest rate, and the debtor’s last known address.¹⁸ The sheriff can levy against both personal and real property, though certain categories of property are exempt.

Bank Restraints and Exempt Funds

A restraining notice freezes a debtor’s bank account. But New York builds real protection into this process, and creditors who ignore it lose the enforcement action.

When a restraining notice or execution is served on a bank, it has to come with an exemption notice and claim forms for the bank to forward to the debtor. Leave those out and the restraining notice is void.¹⁹ If the account received direct deposits of exempt funds within the past 45 days, the first $2,500 is automatically protected. If the account holds $2,500 or less, the whole account is off-limits and the restraining notice is void.²⁰

Many income categories are fully exempt from seizure:

Social Security and Social Security Disability
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Public assistance
Veterans benefits
Unemployment insurance
Workers’ compensation
Child support and spousal support received
Pension and retirement account payments
Disability benefits
90% of wages earned in the last 60 days

A debtor who thinks exempt funds have been frozen has 20 days from the date the exemption notice was mailed to file an exemption claim.¹⁹ The court then decides how much, if any, of the restrained money the creditor can reach.

Post-Judgment Interest

Judgments in New York accrue interest at 9% per year.²¹ One large exception: in cases arising from consumer debt against an individual defendant, the rate is 2%. That reduced rate was enacted in 2021 to keep consumer judgments from ballooning past what debtors can pay.

Accessibility and Accommodations

As a government entity, the Civil Court has to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have a hearing, vision, or speech disability, the court has to provide auxiliary aids at no cost, including qualified sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, and materials in accessible formats. The court has to give primary consideration to the aid you request, and you can’t be required to bring your own interpreter.²² Contact the clerk’s office ahead of your court date; some accommodations, particularly interpreters for less common languages, take time to arrange.

1
NYCOURTS.GOV. In General – NyCivil
2
FindLaw. New York Consolidated Laws, City Civil Court Act – CCA 201 Jurisdiction in General
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NYCOURTS.GOV. ADR Programs in New York City Civil Court
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NYCOURTS.GOV. In General – NY SmallClaims
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New York State Unified Court System. A Guide to Small Claims and Commercial Small Claims in New York City
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NYCOURTS.GOV. Commercial Claims and Consumer Transactions
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Justia. Statute of Limitations Chart
8
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 214 – Actions to Be Commenced Within Three Years
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NYCOURTS.GOV. Court Fees in the New York City Civil Court
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New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 22 NYCRR 208.4a – Electronic Filing in New York City Civil Court
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New York State Senate. New York CPLR 1101
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New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 308 – Personal Service Upon a Natural Person
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Justia. New York Code CVP 3012 – Service of Pleadings and Demand for Complaint
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 U.S. Code 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
15
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP R5015 – Relief From Judgment or Order
16
Legal Information Institute. Part 731 – Rules of Practice for the Appellate Terms
17
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 5519 – Stay of Enforcement
18
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 5230 – Executions
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New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 5222-A – Exemption Notice
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New York State Senate. New York CPLR 5222 – Restraining Notice
21
New York State Senate. New York Code CVP 5004 – Rate of Interest
22
U.S. Department of Justice. ADA Requirements Effective Communication