1. Mandatory cancellation. The court, upon motion of any person aggrieved and upon such notice as it may require, shall direct any county clerk to cancel a notice of pendency, if service of a summons has not been completed within the time limited by section one thousand three hundred forty-five of this article; or if the action has been settled, discontinued or abated; or if the time to appeal from a final judgment against the claiming authority has expired. 2. Discretionary cancellation. The court, upon a motion of any person aggrieved and upon such notice as it may require, may direct any county clerk to cancel a notice of pendency, if the claiming authority has not commenced or prosecuted the action in good faith. 3. Costs and expenses. The court, in an order canceling a notice of pendency under this section, may direct the claiming authority to pay any costs and expenses occasioned by the filing and cancellation, in addition to any costs of the action. In order to establish the claiming authority’s liability for such costs and expenses, the person seeking such costs and expenses must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that, in causing the notice to pendency to be filed, the claiming authority acted without reasonable cause and not in good faith. 4. Cancellation by stipulation. At any time prior to entry of judgment, a notice of pendency shall be cancelled by the county clerk without an order, on the filing with him or her of:
§ 1347.Motion for cancellation of notice of pendency
Article 13-A. Proceeds of Crime—forfeiture · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceSets out four ways to cancel a forfeiture notice of pendency -- mandatory cancellation for late service or a closed case, discretionary cancellation for bad-faith prosecution, cost-shifting against a claiming authority proven to have acted in bad faith, and cancellation by stipulation or by the claiming authority's own affidavit.
Full Text of CPLR 1347
(a) An affidavit by the claiming authority showing which defendants have been served with process, which defendants are in default in appearing or answering, and which defendants have appeared or answered and by whom; and
(b) A stipulation consenting to the cancellation, signed by the claiming authority and by the attorneys for all the defendants who have appeared or answered including those who have waived all notices, and executed and acknowledged, in the form required to entitle a deed to be recorded, by the defendants who have been served with process and have not appeared but whose time to do so has not expired, and by any defendants who have appeared in person. 5. Cancellation by a claiming authority. At any time prior to the entry of a judgment a notice of pendency of action shall be cancelled by the county clerk without an order on the filing with him or her of an affidavit by the claiming authority showing that there have been no appearances and that the time to appear has expired for all parties.
Plain-English Summary
Section 1347 gives a person burdened by a notice of pendency several different doors out. Mandatory cancellation applies when the case behind the notice has effectively failed to move forward -- the summons was not served within the thirty days required by section 1345, the action was settled, discontinued, or abated, or the time to appeal a final judgment against the claiming authority has run out. In any of those situations, the court has to order cancellation once an aggrieved person moves for it.
Discretionary cancellation covers a softer case: the claiming authority has not commenced or prosecuted the action in good faith. Here the court can cancel the notice, but does not have to. If it does cancel on this ground, or awards costs and expenses for the filing and cancellation, the person seeking that money still carries the burden -- proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the claiming authority acted without reasonable cause and not in good faith, the same heightened standard that governs damages claims under section 1337.
Two paths skip the court entirely. Before judgment, the notice can be cancelled by the county clerk on a stipulation signed by the claiming authority and the defendants' attorneys, paired with an affidavit showing who has been served, who has defaulted, and who has appeared. Or, where no one has appeared and every defendant's time to appear has expired, the claiming authority alone can file an affidavit saying so and the clerk cancels the notice without any order at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must a court cancel a notice of pendency in a forfeiture action?
When the summons was not served within the time required by section 1345, when the action has been settled, discontinued, or abated, or when the time to appeal a final judgment against the claiming authority has expired.
Can a notice of pendency be cancelled for bad-faith prosecution?
Yes, on a discretionary basis -- the court may cancel it if the claiming authority has not commenced or prosecuted the action in good faith, though the court is not required to.
Can the person who moves to cancel the notice also recover costs?
Yes, but only by proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the claiming authority acted without reasonable cause and not in good faith in filing the notice.
Can a notice of pendency be cancelled without going to court?
Yes, before judgment, the county clerk can cancel it on a stipulation signed by the claiming authority and the appearing defendants' attorneys, along with an affidavit detailing who has been served or has appeared.
What if no defendant has appeared in the case?
The claiming authority can file an affidavit showing that no appearances have been made and that every defendant's time to appear has expired, and the clerk cancels the notice without a court order.
Amendment History
Add, L 1984, ch 669, § 1, eff Aug 1, 1984 and applicable to crimes committed on and after Aug 1, 1984.
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: CPLR 1347 cancel notice of pendencymandatory cancellation notice of pendencyforfeiture lis pendens cancellation NYstipulation cancel notice of pendency