If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined (i) in its operation of the provision, or (ii) in its application to the person or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
§ 1351.Application of article
Article 13-A. Proceeds of Crime—forfeiture · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceA severability clause providing that if a court finds any part of Article 13-A, or its application to a person or situation, invalid or unconstitutional, the ruling stays confined to that provision or that case and leaves the rest of the article standing.
Full Text of CPLR 1351
Plain-English Summary
Section 1351 is standard severability language, adapted to Article 13-A. If a court with authority to decide the question finds any provision of the forfeiture article, or the way it applies to a particular person or set of facts, invalid or unconstitutional, that ruling does not bring down the whole article.
The judgment stays confined in one of two ways: either to the specific provision found invalid, leaving every other section of Article 13-A intact, or to the person or circumstances before the court in that case, leaving the same provision free to apply to everyone else. Either way, a successful constitutional challenge to one piece of the forfeiture scheme does not hand every defendant in every other forfeiture case the same result.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a court strikes down part of Article 13-A, does the whole forfeiture scheme fall?
No, section 1351 confines the ruling to the invalid provision, or to the person and circumstances involved in that case, and leaves the rest of the article in force.
Does a successful challenge by one defendant automatically help other defendants in other forfeiture cases?
Not under section 1351 -- a ruling can be confined to the person or circumstances directly involved in the controversy where it was rendered.
What kind of clause is section 1351?
A severability clause, a standard drafting tool that keeps one invalid part of a statute from taking down the rest.
Which court's ruling triggers section 1351?
Any court of competent jurisdiction that adjudges a provision of the article, or its application, invalid or unconstitutional.
Does section 1351 protect the article from every kind of legal challenge?
It addresses only what happens after a court has already found a provision or application invalid -- it does not shield any part of Article 13-A from being challenged in the first place.
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 1351 severabilityArticle 13-A unconstitutional provisionforfeiture severability clause New YorkCPLR 1351 application of article