(a) Before any evidence is offered, an attorney for each plaintiff having a separate right, and an attorney for each defendant having a separate right, may make an opening statement. At the close of all the evidence on the issues tried, an attorney for each such party may make a closing statement in inverse order to opening statements.
R 4016.Opening and closing statements
Article 40. Trial Generally · Last amended 2004 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 4016 lets each side's attorney give an opening statement before evidence starts and a closing statement after it ends, and in personal injury or wrongful death cases lets the attorney name a dollar figure for damages in closing, with a required instruction that the number is argument, not evidence.
Full Text of CPLR 4016
(b) In any action to recover damages for personal injuries or wrongful death, the attorney for a party shall be permitted to make reference, during closing statement, to a specific dollar amount that the attorney believes to be appropriate compensation for any element of damage that is sought to be recovered in the action. In the event that an attorney makes such a reference in an action being tried by a jury, the court shall, upon the request of any party, during the court’s instructions to the jury at the conclusion of all closing statements, instruct the jury that:
(1) the attorney’s reference to such specific dollar amount is permitted as argument;
(2) the attorney’s reference to a specific dollar amount is not evidence and should not be considered by the jury as evidence; and
(3) the determination of damages is solely for the jury to decide.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 4016(a) sets the basic order for statements at trial: before any evidence comes in, an attorney for each plaintiff or defendant with a separate right may give an opening statement, and once all the evidence is in, those attorneys may give closing statements, made in the reverse order of the openings.
CPLR 4016(b) addresses a specific practice in personal injury and wrongful death cases: an attorney may tell the jury a specific dollar amount believed to be appropriate compensation for an element of damages. If an attorney does that in a jury trial, the court, on any party's request, must instruct the jury that the dollar figure is argument, not evidence, that the jury should not treat it as evidence, and that deciding the damages figure is the jury's job alone.
This rule opened the door to naming a number in summation, after New York practice had long kept attorneys from suggesting a figure to the jury. The required instruction builds in a safeguard against a jury mistaking an advocate's suggested number for actual evidence of what the damages should be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a lawyer suggest a dollar amount to the jury during closing arguments in New York?
Yes, in personal injury or wrongful death cases. CPLR 4016(b) permits an attorney to reference a specific dollar amount for an element of damages during closing statements.
What order are opening and closing statements given in a New York trial?
Opening statements are given before any evidence is offered, and closing statements follow all the evidence, given in the reverse order of the openings.
What jury instruction is required when an attorney names a dollar figure in closing under CPLR 4016?
On request, the court must instruct the jury that the reference is permitted as argument, that it is not evidence and should not be treated as evidence, and that the jury alone decides the damages figure.
Does CPLR 4016(b) apply to all types of civil cases?
No. It applies specifically to actions to recover damages for personal injuries or wrongful death.
Is a lawyer's suggested damages number treated as evidence in a New York trial?
No. CPLR 4016(b) requires the jury to be told that the number is argument, not evidence, when an attorney raises it during closing.
Advisory Committee Notes
This rule replaces the first and third sentences of RCP 161, the latter of which specifically limited closing statements to one hour, unless otherwise ordered. The court retains whatever power it had to vary the order or limit the time for statements. See CPLR rule 4011. As a matter of practice co-parties with separate rights were permitted to make separate statements and this practice has been codified. It is contemplated that the courts will follow the former practice of permitting the party having the burden of proof to open first. 6 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 425 (1953).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; amd, L 1962, ch 318, eff Sept 1, 1963; L 2003, ch 694, § 2, eff Nov 27, 2003; L 2004, ch 372, § 1, eff Aug 17, 2004.
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: closing argument dollar amount New Yorksuggesting a damages number to the jury NYopening statement order New York trialpersonal injury closing statement dollar figurejury instruction on suggested damages amount