(a) Challenge to the Favor. The fact that a juror is in the employ of a party to the action; or if a party to the action is a corporation, that he is a shareholder or a stockholder therein; or, in an action for damages for injuries to person or property, that he is a shareholder, stockholder, director, officer or employee, or in any manner interested, in any insurance company issuing policies for protection against liability for damages for injury to persons or property; shall constitute a ground for a challenge to the favor as to such juror. The fact that a juror is a resident of, or liable to pay taxes in, a city, village, town or county which is a party to the action shall not constitute a ground for challenge to the favor as to such juror.
§ 4110.Challenges for cause
Article 41. Trial by a Jury · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceSection 4110 lists the grounds for challenging a juror to the favor, including employment by a party or a stake in an insurance company in an injury case, and disqualifies anyone related to a party within the sixth degree, with different deadlines for raising each objection.
Full Text of CPLR 4110
(b) Disqualification of Juror for Relationship. Persons shall be disqualified from sitting as jurors if related within the sixth degree by consanguinity or affinity to a party. The party related to the juror must raise the objection before the case is opened; any other party must raise the objection no later than six months after the verdict.
Plain-English Summary
Section 4110 covers two distinct ways a juror can be found unfit to serve. Subdivision (a), a challenge to the favor, targets jurors with a financial or personal stake in the outcome: someone employed by a party, a shareholder or stockholder if a party is a corporation, or, in a personal injury or property damage case, anyone with a stake in an insurance company that writes liability policies covering that kind of claim. The section draws one line the other way, too: living in, or paying taxes to, a city, village, town, or county that is a party to the case is not, by itself, a ground to challenge a juror.
Subdivision (b) disqualifies a different category of juror altogether: anyone related to a party within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity cannot sit on the case. That objection comes with two different clocks. The party who is related to the juror has to raise the objection before the case is opened, at the start of trial, while any other party gets far more room, up to six months after the verdict, to raise the same objection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I challenge a juror who works for the other side?
Yes, a juror's employment by a party is a ground for a challenge to the favor under section 4110(a).
Does a juror's connection to an insurance company matter in my injury case?
Yes, in an action for injury to person or property, a juror who is a shareholder, officer, employee, or otherwise interested in an insurance company that issues liability policies can be challenged to the favor.
Can I challenge a juror just because they live in the town that's suing or being sued?
No, section 4110(a) specifically says residency or tax liability in a municipality that is a party is not a ground for challenge.
What if a juror turns out to be related to one of the parties?
A juror related within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity to a party is disqualified under section 4110(b).
How long do I have to raise an objection that a juror is related to the other side?
If you are the party related to the juror, you must object before the case is opened; any other party has up to six months after the verdict.
What counts as being related within the sixth degree?
The statute uses the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity as its cutoff, a relationship measurement borrowed from the same standard New York uses to disqualify judges.
Advisory Committee Notes
(See also Advisory Committee Notes preceding § 4101, under subheading “Number and selection of jurors.”). Subd (a) of this section incorporates the provisions of former §§ 452 and 454; subd (b) is based upon former § 455. The language in former § 454 which related to the officer who notified the trial jury, along with the provisions in former section 453 for challenges to the panel or array, have been moved to the Judiciary Law. Subd (b) differs from former § 455 in that it utilizes the actual basis for disqualification of judges rather than a reference to cases in which judges are disqualified. See Judiciary Law § 14. No change has been made in the former rule that any connection with an insurance company shall constitute a ground for challenge to a juror.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963.
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: challenge for cause New York jurorjuror related to a party New Yorkjuror insurance company bias New Yorkdisqualifying a juror New York civil casesixth degree relationship juror New York