(a) The plaintiff in a complaint or the defendant in an answer setting forth a counterclaim or cross-claim may join as many claims as he may have against an adverse party. There may be like joinder of claims when there are multiple parties.
§ 601.Joinder of claims.
Article 6. Joinder of Claims, Consolidation and Severance · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 601 lets a plaintiff or a counterclaiming or cross-claiming defendant join every claim it holds against an opposing party in a single action, while capping multiple plaintiffs represented by one attorney to five joined consumer-credit claims.
Full Text of CPLR 601
(b) Two or more plaintiffs may join no more than five claims in any one action or proceeding against the same defendant arising out of separate consumer credit transactions, provided that the plaintiffs are represented by the same attorney.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 601 clears away one of the older procedural obstacles to litigation: the idea that a party could only bring one claim, or one kind of claim, against an opponent in a single lawsuit. Subdivision (a) lets a plaintiff, or a defendant asserting a counterclaim or cross-claim, join every claim it has against the opposing party in one action, regardless of whether the claims relate to each other. The same joinder is available when the action involves more than one party on either side.
Subdivision (b) draws one narrow line back in. When two or more plaintiffs, all represented by the same attorney, want to join claims against the same defendant arising out of separate consumer credit transactions, the rule caps that joinder at five claims per action. The limit targets a mass-filing pattern where a single law firm strings together large numbers of unrelated debt claims against a defendant in one case, and it leaves ordinary joinder among plaintiffs with different attorneys, or plaintiffs suing over anything other than consumer credit transactions, untouched.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bring multiple claims against the same defendant in one New York lawsuit?
Yes. CPLR 601(a) lets a plaintiff, or a defendant with a counterclaim or cross-claim, join as many claims as it has against the opposing party in a single action.
Do the claims I join need to be related to each other?
No. CPLR 601(a) doesn't require the joined claims to share a common origin or subject matter; a party can join unrelated claims against the same adverse party.
Is there a cap on how many claims can be joined?
Only in one narrow situation: CPLR 601(b) limits multiple plaintiffs sharing the same attorney to five joined claims against one defendant arising from separate consumer credit transactions.
Why does New York cap consumer credit claims at five per action?
The limit addresses mass filings where one law firm bundles many unrelated consumer debt claims from different plaintiffs into a single case against the same defendant.
Can multiple plaintiffs join their claims in one lawsuit under CPLR 601?
Yes, subdivision (a) allows joinder of claims when there are multiple parties, subject to the five-claim consumer credit limit in subdivision (b) when it applies.
Does the five-claim limit apply if each plaintiff has a different lawyer?
No. CPLR 601(b) applies only when the plaintiffs joining consumer credit claims are represented by the same attorney.
Advisory Committee Notes
This provision is based upon CPA § 258. Since 1949 there has been no difficulty with the problem of joinder of claims where there are multiple parties; apparently this matter has been set at rest by the liberal decision in Great Northern Telegraph Co. v Yokohama Specie Bank, 297 NY 135, 76 NE2d 117 (1947), decided under earlier provisions, although they lacked some of the broad mandates of the CPA § 258. See 15 NY Jud Council Rep 213, 226 (1949).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1996, ch 602, § 1, eff Jan 1, 1997.
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: joinder of claims New Yorkhow many claims can I join in one lawsuitconsumer credit claim joinder limitjoining multiple claims same defendant NY