If the appellate division disposes of all the issues in the action its order shall be considered a final one, and a subsequent appeal may be taken only from that order and not from any judgment or order entered pursuant to it. If the aggrieved party is granted leave to replead or to perform some other act which would defeat the finality of the order, it shall not take effect as a final order until the expiration of the time limited for such act without his having performed it.
§ 5611.When appellate division order deemed final.
Article 56. Appeals to the Court of Appeals · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 5611 explains when an Appellate Division order counts as final for appeal purposes: an order disposing of all issues in the action is final, and any later appeal must be taken from that order rather than from a judgment entered under it.
Full Text of CPLR 5611
Plain-English Summary
Knowing whether an order is final matters in appellate practice because finality controls which order a party can appeal from, and by when. CPLR 5611 gives a working definition for Appellate Division orders.
If the Appellate Division's order disposes of every issue in the action, that order is final. Once it's final, a later appeal has to be taken from that order itself, not from whatever judgment or order gets entered afterward to carry it out. The finality attaches to the Appellate Division's decision, not to the paperwork that implements it.
The section also addresses a common wrinkle: what if the Appellate Division's order leaves something undone, like directing a party to replead or perform some other act before the case is truly over? In that situation, the order doesn't become final until the time allowed for that act runs out without the party having done it. Finality is delayed, not defeated, so the order can still ripen into a final one on its own once the window closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is an Appellate Division order considered final for appeal purposes?
When it disposes of all the issues in the action.
Can you appeal from a judgment entered after a final Appellate Division order?
No. Once the Appellate Division's order is final, a later appeal must come from that order, not from a judgment or order entered under it.
What happens if the Appellate Division orders a party to replead?
The order isn't final until the time to replead or perform the required act expires without the party having done it.
Why does it matter whether an Appellate Division order is final?
Finality determines which order to appeal from, and it affects whether an appeal to the Court of Appeals as of right or by permission is even available.
Does CPLR 5611 apply to every Appellate Division order?
It applies to orders that dispose of all the issues in the action. An order that leaves something open isn't final until the events described in the section resolve it.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section replaces the lengthy proviso clause of paragraph (b) of CPA § 590 and should be considered with the exception in § 5701(a)(1). They achieve the same result as the proviso to former § 590(b)—i.e., that of preventing a later appeal to the Appellate Division on the same issues which were before it upon a prior appeal. This section, however, is not identical with subparagraphs (1) and (2) of paragraph (b) of former § 590. Those subparagraphs were not operative until a final judgment or order was entered in the court of original instance, whereupon appeal to the Court of Appeals lay only from that judgment or order and an appeal from a determination of the Appellate Division on certified questions would have been dismissed. See Secor v Levine, 296 NY 1020, 73 NE2d 726 (1947). If the final judgment or order had not yet been entered, however, the appellant apparently had the alternative of appealing from the nonfinal order of the Appellate Division on certified questions where permission to appeal was obtained from the Appellate Division. See Cohen & Karger, Powers of the New York Court of Appeals 358–59 (rev ed 1952). There is no choice under the new CPLR since all appeals must be taken from the order of the Appellate Division, which is deemed a final order, and not from any judgment entered in the court below on that order. See § 5512(a). The last sentence of this section effectively covers the cases in which the order of the Appellate Division is a conditional “final” order.
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: when is an Appellate Division order finalfinal order appeal New Yorkappeal from Appellate Division order not judgmentfinality of appellate division decision