Where two or more persons are surety on an undertaking in an action or proceeding, they shall be jointly and severally liable. The amount recoverable from a surety shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of section 7-301 of the general obligations law.
§ 2511.Liability of surety
Article 25. Undertakings · Last amended 1970 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 2511 makes two or more sureties on the same New York undertaking jointly and severally liable, with the recoverable amount determined under General Obligations Law section 7-301.
Full Text of CPLR 2511
Plain-English Summary
Some undertakings carry more than one surety, whether because a single individual could not meet the full net-worth requirement alone or because the parties wanted extra assurance. CPLR 2511 answers the question that arrangement raises: how is liability split among them? The answer is that it is not split at all in a way that limits recovery — sureties on the same undertaking are jointly and severally liable, meaning the beneficiary can pursue any one of them, or all of them together, for the full recoverable amount.
The amount recoverable from a surety is not set by CPLR 2511 itself; the section points to General Obligations Law section 7-301, which governs how an undertaking conditioned on payment of a sum or performance of an act gets construed and enforced.
Frequently Asked Questions
If there are multiple sureties on an undertaking, can you collect the full amount from just one?
Yes. CPLR 2511 makes two or more sureties on the same undertaking jointly and severally liable, so a beneficiary is not required to divide a claim proportionally among them.
How is the amount recoverable from a surety determined?
CPLR 2511 directs that it be determined in accordance with General Obligations Law section 7-301.
Does joint and several liability mean each surety owes the full amount separately?
It means the beneficiary can pursue any surety individually, or all of them together, for the full amount owed, subject to the undertaking's terms and General Obligations Law section 7-301.
Why would a New York undertaking have more than one surety?
Multiple individual sureties are common when a single person cannot meet the net-worth requirement in CPLR 2502(a) alone, or when the parties want added assurance the obligation will be covered.
Does CPLR 2511 apply to an insurance-company surety as well as individual sureties?
The joint and several liability rule in CPLR 2511 applies whenever two or more persons stand as surety on the same undertaking, regardless of whether they are insurance companies or natural persons.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section replaces the second sentence of CPA § 160 and RCP 25(3). The first sentence of this section incorporates former rule 25(3) as an implied condition of the undertaking, and not as a description of what the undertaking should contain, thus insuring that the sureties will be jointly and severally liable whether or not such a provision is included in the undertaking. CPA § 160 provided that damages recoverable from the surety for the breach of his contract could not exceed the penal amount stated except where the condition was for the payment of money, when interest could be added; interest was computed from the time “defendant made default in the performance of the condition” rather than from the time the surety refused to pay. This section provides that interest should always be recoverable after breach by the surety of his undertaking, whether or not the recovery would then exceed the stated penal amount, and whether or not the condition of the undertaking is for the payment of a sum of money. So far as interest is payable by the terms of the contract, and until default by the surety, recovery may not exceed the penal amount; after breach by the surety, however, recovery is not on the ground of contract, but as damages for breach thereof. Brainard v Jones, 18 NY 35 (1858). The time of breach by the surety is the earliest time at which he could have safely paid the obligee, provided he then unjustly withholds payment. Tuzzeo v American Bonding Co. 226 NY 171, 178, 123 NE 142, 144 (1919).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1; amd, L 1970, ch 848, § 2, eff Sept 1, 1970.
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
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