Where a penalty or forfeiture is given by a statute to a person aggrieved by the act or omission of another, the person aggrieved may commence an action to recover it.
§ 7202.Action by person aggrieved.
Article 72. Recovery of Penalty or Forfeiture · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7202 lets a private person whom a statute entitles to a penalty or forfeiture for someone else's wrongful act or omission bring an action to collect it directly.
Full Text of CPLR 7202
Plain-English Summary
Some statutes create a penalty or forfeiture that belongs not to the state, but to a specific person harmed by another's act or omission. Section 7202 gives that person aggrieved a direct route to collect it — an action to recover the penalty or forfeiture the statute already made available to them.
The section is narrow by design. It depends entirely on some other statute giving the penalty or forfeiture to a person aggrieved; CPLR 7202 does not create that entitlement itself, it only supplies the procedural vehicle for enforcing one that already exists elsewhere in the law. That sets it apart from section 7201's state-brought actions and from section 7203's common-informer actions, which let any person sue regardless of personal injury — 7202 is reserved for the person the underlying statute names as aggrieved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an action by a person aggrieved under CPLR 7202?
It is a lawsuit brought by someone a statute entitles to a penalty or forfeiture because of another person's wrongful act or omission. Section 7202 supplies the procedural route for collecting a penalty that some other statute already created.
How is this different from an action brought by the state under CPLR 7201?
Section 7201 covers penalties and forfeitures that belong to the state itself, prosecuted by the Attorney General or a district attorney. Section 7202 covers penalties a statute gives to a private person harmed by the conduct, and that person sues in their own right.
Do I need a specific statute giving me the right to sue for this penalty?
Yes. CPLR 7202 only works alongside some other statute that gives a penalty or forfeiture to a person aggrieved by another's act or omission; it does not create that entitlement on its own.
Can anyone bring this action, or only the person the statute names as aggrieved?
Only the person aggrieved. That requirement distinguishes section 7202 from the common-informer action in section 7203, which lets any person sue for certain statutory penalties regardless of personal harm.
Does CPLR 7202 itself create my right to a penalty, or just let me sue for one another law already gives me?
It just lets you sue. Section 7202 supplies the procedural vehicle for enforcing a penalty or forfeiture some other statute already gives to a person aggrieved by another's act or omission.
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is derived from CPA § 1179 with no change in substance. It covers statutory penalties imposed for the benefit of injured private persons or governmental agencies. Where recovery was sought under CPA § 1178 (action for penalty or forfeiture to people), the action could not be brought except by the authority of the proper officer. People v Belknap (1890) 58 Hun 241, 12 NYS 143. In the Belknap case, it was held that in a suit brought improperly in the name of the people, there can be no presumption that it was authorized by the proper officer. The people can sue for penalties only as authorized by law and then only through the officer or person authorized to sue. In New Jersey Fidelity and Plate Glass Ins. Co. v van Schaick, 236 AD 223, 259 NY Supp 108 (3d Dept 1932) affd, 261 NY 521, 185 NE 721 (1933), the Superintendent of Insurance was held unauthorized to impose a penalty on an insurance company for issuing policies at rates in variance with those filed, but was required to give notice to the Attorney General who could bring the action. However, in City of Brooklyn v Nassau Electric R. Co. 44 AD 462, 61 NY Supp 33 (2d Dept 1889), an action for a statutory fine was properly brought by the city under § 1893 of the Code of Civil Procedure, forerunner of CPA § 1179.
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: statutory penalty for person aggrieved New Yorksue for statutory forfeiture New Yorkprivate right of action under penalty statute New York