(a) When maintainable. Where a penalty or forfeiture is given by a statute to any person, an action to recover it may be maintained by any person in his own name; but the action cannot be compromised or settled without the leave of the court.
§ 7203.Action by common informer.
Article 72. Recovery of Penalty or Forfeiture · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7203 lets anyone bring an action in their own name to recover a penalty a statute gives to any person, subject to special service rules and court approval of any settlement, and protects a plaintiff against an earlier collusive or fraudulent recovery.
Full Text of CPLR 7203
(b) Service. The summons can be served only by an officer authorized by law to collect upon an execution issued out of the same court. The summons cannot be countermanded by the plaintiff before service. Immediately after it has been served, the officer shall file it with his certificate of service with the judge who issued it or with the clerk of the court.
(c) Action not barred by collusive recovery. The plaintiff may recover, notwithstanding the recovery of a judgment, for or against the defendant, in an action brought by another person, if the former judgment was recovered collusively and fraudulently.
Plain-English Summary
Some statutes throw the door wide open, giving a penalty to any person who brings an action to recover it instead of limiting it to someone the wrongdoing harmed. Subdivision (a) lets that action be maintained by anyone, in their own name, but adds one guardrail: the action cannot be compromised or settled without the court's leave. That check exists because a defendant facing a common-informer suit has an incentive to settle quietly with whoever happened to sue first, heading off the penalty entirely.
Subdivision (b) imposes unusual service requirements built for the same reason. The summons can only be served by an officer authorized by law to collect on an execution, it cannot be countermanded by the plaintiff once issued, and the officer must promptly file it, along with a certificate of service, with the judge who issued it or the court clerk. Those formalities create a paper trail that makes it harder for a plaintiff to quietly abandon or manipulate the action after filing.
Subdivision (c) protects a plaintiff who is racing other potential common informers to the same penalty. Even if someone else already obtained a judgment on the same claim — whether that earlier judgment ran for or against the defendant — the plaintiff can still recover if it was procured collusively and fraudulently. That guards against a defendant arranging a friendly, sham suit (win or lose) to try to shut out a later, legitimate common-informer action.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a common informer action under CPLR 7203?
It is an action to recover a statutory penalty that a statute gives to any person, not just to someone personally harmed by the conduct. Section 7203 lets that action be brought by anyone in their own name, subject to court approval before it can be settled.
Do I need any personal connection to the wrongdoing to sue as a common informer?
No. Subdivision (a) allows the action to be maintained by any person where the statute gives the penalty to any person, without requiring the plaintiff to have been personally harmed.
Can I settle a common informer lawsuit without going to court first?
No. Subdivision (a) specifically bars compromising or settling the action without the court's leave, precisely to prevent a quiet settlement that heads off the statutory penalty.
Who can serve the summons in a common informer action?
Only an officer authorized by law to collect on an execution issued out of the same court. Subdivision (b) also bars the plaintiff from countermanding the summons once it is issued.
What if someone else already got a judgment on this same penalty before I did?
You can still recover if that earlier judgment was procured collusively and fraudulently. Subdivision (c) does not let a sham recovery block a later, legitimate common-informer action.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subd (a) of this section is derived from CPA § 1180 with no substantive change. It retains the rule that a common informer can sue only when specifically authorized by statute. See Seward v Beach, 29 Barb 239 (NY Supp Ct 1859); cf. Ancient City Sportsmen’s Club v Miller, 7 Lane 412 (NY Sup Ct 1873) (corporation could not be organized for the purpose of recovering penalties for violations of the game laws). Subd (b) of this section is derived from CPA § 222 with no change in substance. Subd (c) of this section is derived from CPA § 1181 with no change in substance.
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: common informer action New Yorksue for a statutory penalty as any person New Yorkqui tam style penalty action New Yorkcollusive judgment blocking penalty action