What's happening
This bill amends civil procedure to prohibit stating damages amounts in summonses for personal injury or wrongful death cases.
Why it matters
Reduces risk of prejudicing juries and inflating settlement expectations. by prohibiting plaintiffs from stating specific dollar amounts for damages in initial summonses for personal injury or wrongful death cases, potentially leading to fairer trials and more reasonable negotiations.
Protects defendants from early reputational and financial harm. by preventing large, attention-grabbing damage amounts from becoming part of the public record at the outset of litigation, which can influence perception before facts are established.
Maintains defendant's access to information. by allowing them to formally request a supplemental demand that specifies the amount of damages being sought, ensuring both sides still receive necessary details for case evaluation and settlement discussions.
Aligns New York with practices in other states. where such dollar amounts are also omitted from initial filings, potentially reducing forum shopping and harmonizing legal procedures.
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Who cares
Personal injury plaintiffs and wrongful death claimants
The bill would prohibit stating a damages amount in a summons with notice, extending that rule beyond medical malpractice actions.
Defendants in personal injury and wrongful death actions
They would receive summonses with notice that omit a dollar amount but could still request a supplemental demand specifying total damages, due within fifteen days.
Civil litigation attorneys
They would need to adjust summons-with-notice forms for personal injury and wrongful death actions commenced on or after the bill’s effective date.
Headline styles
Change Lawsuit Summons Rules
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Ordered to third reading cal.275
- Substituted for A7526
- Referred to judiciary
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.147
- Referred to judiciary
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to judiciary
Show 6 earlier actions
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.1068
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Update Personal Injury Summons Rules
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Charles Lavine
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5574
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 7, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the content of a summons with notice in certain actions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (b) of rule 305 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 528 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Summons and notice. If the complaint is not served with the summons, the summons shall contain or have attached thereto a notice stating the nature of the action and the relief sought, and, except in an action for [medical malpractice] personal injury or wrongful death, the sum of money for which judgment may be taken in case of default.
§ 2. Subdivision (c) of section 3017 of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by chapter 694 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Personal injury or wrongful death actions. In an action to recover damages for personal injuries or wrongful death, the complaint, summons with notice, counterclaim, cross-claim, interpleader complaint, and third-party complaint shall contain a prayer for general relief but shall not state the amount of damages to which the pleader deems himself or herself entitled. If the action is brought in the supreme court, the pleading shall also state whether or not the amount of damages sought exceeds the jurisdictional limits of all lower courts which would otherwise have jurisdiction. Provided, however, that a party against whom an action to recover damages for personal injuries or wrongful death is brought, may at any time request a supplemental demand setting forth the total damages to which the pleader deems himself or herself entitled. A supplemental demand shall be provided by the party bringing the action
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10174-01-9
S. 5574 2
within fifteen days of the request. In the event the supplemental demand is not served within fifteen days, the court, on motion, may order that it be served. A supplemental demand served pursuant to this subdivision shall be treated in all respects as a demand made pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to actions commenced on or after such date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the content of a summons with notice in certain actions
This measure would amend CPLR rule 305(b) to provide that where the plaintiff in an action for personal injury or wrongful death commences suit with a summons with notice rather than with a summons and complaint, the summons with notice need not specify "the sum of money" the plaintiff seeks, popularly known as the ad damnum. This would elimi- nate an inconsistency that arises from the 2003 amendment of CPLR § 3017(b).
Prior to 2003, the plaintiffs in all personal injury and wrongful death actions were, with two exceptions, required to specify in the complaint the amount of money sought in the action. The two exceptions were actions against municipalities and medical malpractice actions. In those two kinds of cases, defendant could serve a supplemental demand for that information, but the information would not appear in the complaint.
Read the full memo (615 words)
In 2003, CPLR § 3017(b) was amended so as to extend to all personal injury and wrongful death actions the rule then followed only in medical malpractice actions and actions with municipal defendants. Complaints in personal injury and wrongful death actions would no longer contain ad damnum clauses specifying the damages the plaintiff sought, but the defendant would be entitled to obtain that information on demand.
There were several reasons for the amendment. One concern was that the prior practice encouraged inflated demands since (a) plaintiffs were incentivized to make their ad damnum large enough to encompass any potential recovery, and (b) the severity of the injury was not always known at the time of commencement of the suit. Additionally, the prior practice led to undue focus, especially in the media, upon ad damnum demands that were essentially meaningless and often misleading. Finally, the defendant naturally wanted to know and was entitled to know far more than the gross figure plaintiff would claim as his or her total damages, and the more sensible course was to require the plaintiff to provide such information as the defendant demanded during discovery.
CPLR rule 305(b) specifies the information that must appear in the summons in those instances in which "the complaint is not served with the summons." Unfortunately, when CPLR . 3017(b) was amended to effec- tively remove the ad damnum clause from the complaints served in personal injury and wrongful death actions, CPLR rule 305(b) was not amended. It still requires the plaintiff to specify "the sum of money" sought except in actions for medical malpractice.
As is noted in Professor Patrick M. Connors' McKinney's commentary, this inconsistency, which is of course an historical anomaly that serves no purpose, is a trap for the unwary that could potentially result in the dismissal of an action. McKinney's Practice Commentary, C3017:10A. This could occur if an attorney who is familiar with the rules governing content of the complaint reflexively assumes that the ad damnum should also be omitted from a summons served without complaint.
This measure would amend CPLR rule 305(b) to exempt personal injury and wrongful death actions from the requirement that the pleader specify "the sum of money" sought, thus eliminating the inconsistency with CPLR § 3017(b). As in those personal injury and wrongful death actions that are commenced with service of a complaint (the vast majority of such actions), the plaintiff will be required to provide that information (and more) on demand.
This measure, which would have no fiscal impact, would take effect 30 days after becoming law and would apply to actions commenced on or after such effective date.
Legislative history
OCA 2018-86; Senate 8288 RULES
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.