(a) Statutory penalty or forfeiture. Where property has been forfeited or a penalty incurred to the state or to an officer, for its use, pursuant to statute, the attorney-general, or the district attorney of the county in which the action is triable, if such an action has not already been brought by the attorney-general, shall commence an action to recover the property or penalty. A recovery in such an action bars the recovery in any other action brought for the same cause.
§ 7201.Action by state.
Article 72. Recovery of Penalty or Forfeiture · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7201 directs the Attorney General or the district attorney to bring the action when the state is entitled to recover a statutory penalty, a forfeiture, or property forfeited on a treason conviction, and lets a broken recognizance be prosecuted without proving damages.
Full Text of CPLR 7201
(b) Forfeiture on conviction for treason. Where personal property is forfeited to the state upon a conviction of outlawry for treason, the attorney-general shall commence an action to recover the property or its value.
(c) Forfeiture of recognizance. Where the condition of a recognizance is broken, the recognizance is wholly forfeited by an order of the court directing its prosecution. Where a recognizance to the state is forfeited, it is not necessary to allege or prove any damages.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) covers property or a penalty forfeited to the state, or to an officer for the state's use, under some other statute. The duty to sue falls on the Attorney General, or on the district attorney of the county where the action would be tried if the Attorney General has not already brought it. Because the recovery belongs to the state, a judgment in one such action bars any other action brought for the same underlying conduct — the state does not get multiple bites at the same forfeiture.
Subdivision (b) addresses a narrower, older scenario: personal property forfeited to the state when someone is convicted of outlawry for treason. There, the duty to sue for the property or its value falls specifically on the Attorney General.
Subdivision (c) deals with a broken recognizance, a forfeited bail or surety bond. The recognizance is forfeited in full once the court orders its prosecution, and when the recognizance runs to the state, the state does not have to allege or prove any actual damages to recover on it. The statutory forfeiture stands on its own, without a separate damages showing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who sues to recover a penalty or forfeiture owed to the state of New York?
The Attorney General, or the district attorney of the county where the action would be tried if the Attorney General has not already sued. CPLR 7201(a) puts that duty on one of those two officers.
Can both the Attorney General and a district attorney sue for the same statutory penalty?
No. The district attorney's duty to sue applies only if the Attorney General has not already brought the action, so the two do not pursue the same recovery in parallel.
Does winning one action for a statutory penalty prevent additional lawsuits over the same conduct?
Yes. Subdivision (a) states that a recovery in the action bars recovery in any other action brought for the same cause, so the state's recovery is a one-time matter for that conduct.
What happens when a bail bond, or recognizance, is forfeited in New York?
The recognizance becomes wholly forfeited once a court orders its prosecution. Subdivision (c) governs how that forfeiture is enforced.
Do I have to prove actual damages to recover on a forfeited recognizance owed to the state?
No. Subdivision (c) specifically says that when a recognizance to the state is forfeited, it is not necessary to allege or prove any damages.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) of this section is based upon CPA § 1178. The action is seldom used. Cf. City of Buffalo v Neubeck, 209 App Div 386, 204 NY Supp 737 (4th Dept 1924) (a fine is a sum of money exacted from a person guilty of a crime, the amount of which may be fixed by law or left to the court’s discretion; a penalty is a sum which the law exacts as punishment for doing something prohibited, or failing to do something required, recoverable in a civil action); Chapman v Selover (1919) 225 NY 417, 122 NE 206. The option of the district attorney to bring it where the Attorney General fails to do so is continued. Cf. subdivision (b); CPA § 1183 (requiring the Attorney General to bring the action). Problems of defendant’s bail, which are of primary interest to district attorneys, are covered in §§ 595 to 596 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, district attorneys may wish to bring an action based on a witness’s recognizance. See Code Crim Proc §§ 618-b, 618-c. The word “statute” is substituted for “a provision of law” as more clearly expressing the meaning intended. The former requirement that an action be brought in a court having jurisdiction to try the case, and the statement that it can be brought in any of the courts having concurrent jurisdiction, is omitted as unnecessary.
Subd (b) of this section is derived from CPA § 1183. It applies only to personal property, real property being covered by §§ 201 through 205 of the Abandoned Property Law. The final clause of CPA § 1183, which allowed the Attorney General to bring any other action that could be maintained by a private person who had acquired title to the property, is omitted as unnecessary. The forfeiture provided for by statute gives the people such title and allows them to proceed in this manner. Code Crim Proc § 819.
Subd (c) of this section is derived from CPA § 1184 with no change in substance. Part of the second sentence has been omitted as unnecessary and the word “wholly” has been added to describe the forfeiture to indicate that the people, where entitled to judgment, can have judgment for the full penalty without proof of damage. Reading this provision with CPA § 1182 (§ 7204) indicates that the trier is not required to give the state the full amount of the recognizance where the offense does not warrant a full forfeiture.
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: state action to recover statutory penalty New Yorkattorney general forfeiture action New Yorkbail bond recognizance forfeiture New Yorkrecovery of penalty owed to New York state