Upon motion of any party, the supreme court may order that an issue of fact in an action pending in another court, except an action relating to real property pending in a county court, be tried in the supreme court in another county upon such terms as may be just. After the trial, the clerk of the county in which it has taken place shall certify the minutes thereof, which shall be filed with the clerk of the court in which the action is pending. Subsequent proceedings shall be the same as if the issue had been tried in the court in which the action is pending.
§ 604.Change by supreme court of place of trial of action pending in another court
Article 6. Joinder of Claims, Consolidation and Severance · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 604 lets the supreme court, on motion, pull a factual issue out of an action pending in another court and have that issue tried in the supreme court in a different county, except for real-property actions pending in county court.
Full Text of CPLR 604
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 604 solves a narrower problem than consolidation: what to do when only a piece of a pending case, a single factual issue, belongs in the supreme court rather than the court where the whole action sits. On motion of any party, the supreme court can order that issue tried in the supreme court in a different county, on terms the court considers just, even though the underlying action keeps proceeding in the original court.
The section carves out one exception: it doesn't reach an action relating to real property that's pending in a county court. After the issue is tried, the clerk of the county where that trial happened certifies the minutes and files them with the clerk of the court where the action is pending, and the case then moves forward there as if the issue had been tried in that court all along.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Supreme Court try just one issue from a case pending in another court?
Yes. CPLR 604 lets the supreme court, on motion, order that a factual issue in an action pending elsewhere be tried in the supreme court in another county.
What's excluded from CPLR 604?
The section doesn't apply to an action relating to real property that's pending in a county court.
What happens to the trial record after the issue is tried under CPLR 604?
The clerk of the county where the trial took place certifies the minutes and files them with the clerk of the court where the action is pending.
Who can move for an order under CPLR 604?
Any party to the action can make the motion.
How is CPLR 604 different from consolidation under CPLR 602?
Consolidation under CPLR 602 merges or jointly tries whole actions, while CPLR 604 moves just one factual issue to the supreme court for trial while the underlying action stays where it was filed.
Advisory Committee Notes
This provision is derived from CPA § 189, with only minor language changes. It provides for change of the place of trial without removal of the action; after the trial the case proceeds in the lower court where it has always remained pending. See Report of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Simplification of Civil Practice 148 (1919). But cf. 21 NY Jud Council Rep 169–75 (1955). It should be considered with new CPLR § 511, in the article on venue, which allows change of the place of trial of actions pending in the Supreme Court. This provision serves an additional purpose, in allowing trial of a lower court case within a county where witnesses reside who could not be reached by the territorially-limited process of the lower court. See 21 NY Jud Council Rep 171–72 (1955). It has been placed here rather than in article 5 since the latter applies only to venue in Supreme Court actions while this provision involves inter-court changes.
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: supreme court try issue another courtchange venue single issue New Yorktransfer factual issue supreme court NY