Hurt, wronged, or owed money
THINKING ABOUT SUING
What New York law says about the time to bring a claim, by the kind of claim, and about the court that hears small ones. Every period here is one the guide already states, with the section it comes from and the law that section cites.
A period runs from the event its statute names. When that event happened, and whether anything paused the count, are facts a lawyer applies; whether a claim is worth bringing is a question for one too. Nothing here answers either.
THE TIME TO SUE
An injury to a person
Hurt in a fall, a crash, a dog bite, or by somebody's carelessness.
3 years
Suing over an injury to a person or property
- From
- The claim accruing
An action for damages for a personal injury or an injury to property is commenced within three years, except where another section provides.
Damage to property
A car, a phone, a fence, or anything else damaged or taken.
3 years
Suing over an injury to a person or property
- From
- The claim accruing
An action for damages for a personal injury or an injury to property is commenced within three years, except where another section provides.
A written contract
A signed agreement, a lease, a written estimate or invoice.
6 years
Suing on a contract
- From
- The claim accruing
An action on a contractual obligation or liability, express or implied, is commenced within six years, unless the section names an exception.
A contract not in writing
A deal made in words or a handshake, or an account with no signed paper.
6 years
Suing on a contract
- From
- The claim accruing
An action on a contractual obligation or liability, express or implied, is commenced within six years, unless the section names an exception.
A CLAIM AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT
A claim against a public body often has a step of its own before a lawsuit, and a shorter period for it. These are the ones the New York guide carries, in the order they come. A body none of them names is not covered here yet.
Step 1
90 days
A notice of claim against a public corporation
- From
- The claim arising
Where a notice of claim is required before suing a public corporation or its officers or employees in tort, it is served within ninety days after the claim arises.
Step 2
30 days
The wait after serving a notice of claim
- From
- Service of the notice of claim
An action against a city, county, town or village for personal injury needs at least thirty days to have passed after the notice was served without the claim being adjusted or paid.
SMALL CLAIMS COURT
The limit in New York
Up to $10,000 in New York City, and $5,000 in a city court elsewhere
N.Y.C. Civ. Ct. Act § 1801 — up to $10,000 in New York City, and up to $5,000 in a city court elsewhere
WHAT TO HAVE TOGETHER
Whoever looks at a claim, a lawyer, a legal aid office or a small claims clerk, works from the same handful of facts. These are the ones people are most often asked for, gathered in one place.
When and where it happened
The date, the time if you know it, and the place, as exactly as you can say it.
Who was involved
The person or business on the other side, and the name it uses on its papers or its sign.
What happened, in order
Written down while it is fresh, in your own words, with what was said.
What it cost
Bills, receipts, estimates, repair quotes, and days of work missed, each with its amount.
Photos and papers
Pictures of the place, the damage or the injury, and every letter, contract, receipt or email.
Witnesses
Who saw it, and a phone number or address for each.
Reports already made
A police or incident report, a claim number with an insurer, or a complaint to an agency.
Insurance
Your own policy, and any insurer for the other side that you have been told about.
Keep it in one place
A case keeps all of it together in your account: what happened and when, what it cost, the people involved, every photo and paper kept privately, and one folder ready to download or send to a lawyer.
MyRightz is legal education, not legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney client relationship. Applying the law to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.