(a) If in an action to recover damages for personal injury, injury to property or wrongful death, or an action brought by the individual who committed a crime against the victim of the crime, and such action or claim is commenced or continued by a plaintiff or a counterclaim, defense or cross claim is commenced or continued by a defendant and is found, at any time during the proceedings or upon judgment, to be frivolous by the court, the court shall award to the successful party costs and reasonable attorney’s fees not exceeding ten thousand dollars.
§ 8303-a.Costs upon frivolous claims and counterclaims in actions to recover damages for personal injury, injury to property or wrongful death.
Article 83. Disbursements and Additional Allowances · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 8303-a requires the court to award costs and reasonable attorney's fees of up to ten thousand dollars against a party or attorney (or both) whose personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death claim, counterclaim, defense, or cross claim is found frivolous under one of the section's specified standards.
Full Text of CPLR 8303-a
(b) The costs and fees awarded under subdivision (a) of this section shall be assessed either against the party bringing the action, claim, cross claim, defense or counterclaim or against the attorney for such party, or against both, as may be determined by the court, based upon the circumstances of the case. Such costs and fees shall be in addition to any other judgment awarded to the successful party.
(c) In order to find the action, claim, counterclaim, defense or cross claim to be frivolous under subdivision (a) of this section, the court must find one or more of the following:
(i) the action, claim, counterclaim, defense or cross claim was commenced, used or continued in bad faith, solely to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation or to harass or maliciously injure another;
(ii) the action, claim, counterclaim, defense or cross claim was commenced or continued in bad faith without any reasonable basis in law or fact and could not be supported by a good faith argument for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law. If the action, claim, counterclaim, defense or cross claim was promptly discontinued when the party or the attorney learned or should have learned that the action, claim, counterclaim, defense or cross claim lacked such a reasonable basis, the court may find that the party or the attorney did not act in bad faith.
Plain-English Summary
Most of Article 83 deals with routine litigation expenses. CPLR 8303-a is different: it is a sanctions provision aimed at frivolous litigation in a defined category of cases, those seeking damages for personal injury, injury to property, or wrongful death, plus actions brought by an individual who committed a crime against that crime's victim. Subdivision (a) says that if a claim, counterclaim, defense, or cross claim in one of those actions is found frivolous at any point in the proceedings or upon judgment, the court shall award the successful party costs and reasonable attorney's fees, capped at ten thousand dollars. Because the statute directs that the court shall award these amounts once a frivolousness finding is made, the award itself is not discretionary, though the frivolousness finding and the dollar amount within the cap are for the court to determine.
Subdivision (b) gives the court flexibility in deciding who pays: the party who brought the frivolous claim or defense, the attorney who pursued it, or both, apportioned according to the circumstances of the case. It also makes clear that this award stands apart from and in addition to any other judgment the successful party wins. Subdivision (c) supplies the standard for frivolousness itself, requiring the court to find at least one of two things: that the claim, counterclaim, defense, or cross claim was pursued in bad faith solely to delay, prolong, harass, or maliciously injure another party, or that it was pursued in bad faith without any reasonable basis in law or fact and without a good-faith argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law. That second standard includes a built-in safe harbor: if the party or attorney promptly discontinued the claim once they learned, or should have learned, that it lacked a reasonable basis, the court may find that no bad faith occurred.
The section is narrow by design. It applies only within the personal injury, property damage, wrongful death, and crime-victim categories named in subdivision (a), and only where the court makes an affirmative finding under one of the two prongs of subdivision (c). It does not create a general frivolous-litigation sanction for every civil case; it is a targeted tool for a specific slice of tort practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of cases does CPLR 8303-a cover?
Actions to recover damages for personal injury, injury to property, or wrongful death, and actions brought by an individual who committed a crime against that crime's victim. The section does not reach every type of civil case.
What can a court award under CPLR 8303-a if it finds a claim frivolous?
Costs and reasonable attorney's fees, up to a combined cap of ten thousand dollars, in favor of the successful party.
Who can be ordered to pay under CPLR 8303-a?
Subdivision (b) lets the court assess the award against the party who brought the frivolous claim, counterclaim, defense, or cross claim, against that party's attorney, or against both, based on the circumstances of the case.
What standard makes a claim frivolous under CPLR 8303-a?
Subdivision (c) requires the court to find either that the claim was pursued in bad faith solely to delay or prolong the litigation or to harass or maliciously injure another, or that it was pursued in bad faith with no reasonable basis in law or fact and no good-faith argument for changing existing law.
Is there a safe harbor if a party discontinues a weak claim under CPLR 8303-a?
Yes. Under subdivision (c)(ii), if the party or attorney promptly discontinued the claim, counterclaim, defense, or cross claim upon learning, or after they should have learned, that it lacked a reasonable basis, the court may find there was no bad faith.
Can a frivolousness finding under CPLR 8303-a be made before final judgment?
Yes. Subdivision (a) allows the finding to be made at any time during the proceedings or upon judgment, so the court is not limited to assessing frivolousness only after the case concludes.
Is the CPLR 8303-a award instead of or in addition to the underlying judgment?
In addition. Subdivision (b) states that the costs and fees awarded under the section are in addition to any other judgment awarded to the successful party.
Does CPLR 8303-a apply to defenses and cross claims, or only to claims filed by a plaintiff?
It applies broadly. Subdivision (a) covers an action or claim commenced or continued by a plaintiff as well as a counterclaim, defense, or cross claim commenced or continued by a defendant.
How is CPLR 8303-a different from the additional allowances in CPLR 8303?
CPLR 8303's discretionary allowances compensate a prevailing party in categories like foreclosure or difficult cases regardless of the other side's conduct. CPLR 8303-a instead functions as a sanction, tied specifically to a finding that a claim, defense, or cross claim in a personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death case was frivolous under one of two defined bad-faith standards.
Amendment History
Add, L 1985, ch 294, § 10, eff July 1, 1985; amd, L 1986, ch 220, § 35, eff June 28, 1986; L 1997, ch 620, § 5, eff Nov 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: CPLR 8303a frivolous claimsfrivolous personal injury lawsuit sanctions New Yorkcosts attorney fees frivolous counterclaim NYCPLR frivolous claim ten thousand dollarssanctions personal injury wrongful death CPLRbad faith litigation costs New York statute