The judgment in an action maintained as a class action, whether or not favorable to the class, shall include and describe those whom the court finds to be members of the class.
§ 905.Judgment
Article 9. Class Actions · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 905 requires that a judgment in a case maintained as a class action, whether or not it favors the class, identify and describe the members of the class the judgment covers.
Full Text of CPLR 905
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 905 is short, but it does real work at the end of a class action: whatever the outcome, the judgment has to include and describe the class members it covers. That requirement applies whether the class wins or loses.
The point is to tie the judgment's binding effect to a defined group. A judgment in a class action can bind people who never appeared individually, so later courts need a way to tell who belonged to that earlier proceeding. Describing the class in the judgment itself, building on the description the court set out earlier under CPLR 903, gives later courts, and the class members themselves, a way to tell who the judgment covers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a class-action judgment in New York bind everyone in the class?
Yes, as to the members the judgment describes. CPLR 905 requires the judgment to identify and describe the class members it covers, whether the outcome favors the class or not.
What must a class-action judgment include under CPLR 905?
It must include and describe those the court finds to be members of the class, regardless of which side wins.
Does CPLR 905 apply even if the class loses?
Yes. CPLR 905 applies regardless of whether the outcome favors the class, so a judgment for the defense still has to describe the class it covers.
How does CPLR 905 connect to the class description under CPLR 903?
CPLR 903 has the certification order describe the class at the outset; CPLR 905 carries that description forward into the judgment itself once the case ends.
Why does it matter that the judgment describes the class members?
Because the judgment binds people who never appeared individually, describing the class ties that binding effect to a defined, identifiable group rather than leaving membership ambiguous after the case ends.
Can class members later dispute whether they were included in the judgment's description?
The description in the judgment, built on the class defined at certification, is what other courts look to in deciding who the judgment binds, so disputes over membership typically get resolved against that description.
Amendment History
Add, L 1975, ch 207, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1975.
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: class action judgment New Yorkclass action judgment binding effectwho is bound by class action judgment NY