Where, because of joinder of claims or parties, there is a conflict of provisions under this article, the court, upon motion, shall order as the place of trial one proper under this article as to at least one of the parties or claims.
§ 502.Conflicting venue provisions
Article 5. Venue · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 502 resolves venue conflicts created by joining multiple claims or parties by directing the court, on motion, to pick a place of trial proper as to at least one of the parties or claims.
Full Text of CPLR 502
Plain-English Summary
Joining several claims or several parties in one case can create a problem the venue article doesn't otherwise solve: each claim or party might independently point to a different proper county. CPLR 502 gives the court a way through that conflict. On motion, the court orders as the place of trial a county proper under the venue article as to at least one of the parties or claims — not necessarily every one of them.
That standard matters because New York's joinder rules let a plaintiff combine claims and parties without first confirming that every combination shares a common proper venue. Without CPLR 502, a plaintiff who joined a claim or a party with a different residence-based venue might have no clean way to keep the whole case in one county. CPLR 502 supplies that resolution, so the joinder rules in Articles 6 and 10 can work as intended.
CPLR 502 addresses a conflict that comes from the joinder itself, which sets it apart from CPLR 501's enforcement of a venue agreement or CPLR 510's grounds for changing venue for reasons like convenience or bias. It's a fix for a structural problem, not a response to an improper or inconvenient choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when joined claims each point to a different proper county?
CPLR 502 lets the court, on motion, order as the place of trial any county proper as to at least one of the joined parties or claims, resolving the conflict without requiring a county proper for all of them.
Do all defendants have to reside in the county I choose for venue?
Not under CPLR 502's conflict-resolution rule. The court can designate a county proper as to at least one party or claim, even if it isn't proper as to every defendant.
Is CPLR 502 the same as a motion to change venue?
No. It addresses a conflict created by joining claims or parties with different venue rules, while a change-of-venue motion under CPLR 510 addresses an improper, inconvenient, or biased venue choice.
Who decides which county controls when there's a venue conflict?
The court, on motion, under CPLR 502. It selects a county proper under the venue article as to at least one of the parties or claims involved.
Does CPLR 502 apply to joined parties as well as joined claims?
Yes. The rule covers a conflict of venue provisions arising from joinder of either claims or parties.
Advisory Committee Notes
This provision is new. It is designed to make it clear that where an otherwise proper joinder of claims or parties results in a conflict in the applicable venue provisions, this is not an objection to the joinder and the court may make an appropriate order as to venue.
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: venue conflict joined claims New Yorkmultiple defendants different counties NYCPLR 502 conflicting venuechoosing venue joined parties New York