1. Investigation and notice, before anything is filed
Nothing is filed yet. The file is being built, the clocks are being docketed, and coverage is being identified. For most clients this is the longest quiet period and the one that causes the most anxiety — but it is also where cases are won or lost.
What this involves
- Docket the short clocks first: 30-day no-fault notice (11 NYCRR 65-1.1), and any 90-day notice of claim against a public entity (General Municipal Law § 50-e).
- Obtain the police report, any body-worn or surveillance footage before retention periods expire, and the vehicle’s event data where a commercial vehicle is involved.
- Identify every layer of coverage: liability, UM, SUM and MVAIC. Send preservation letters.
- Confirm the correct defendant. A claim against the State goes to the Court of Claims, with its own notice of intention under Court of Claims Act § 10.
Authority: 11 NYCRR 65-1.1; General Municipal Law § 50-e; Court of Claims Act § 10; Insurance Law §§ 5202, 5208
2. Commencing the action
The lawsuit formally begins. In New York, filing — not service — starts the case, and the filing date is what determines which version of the law applies. That matters enormously for any motor-vehicle case straddling May 26, 2026.
What this involves
- An action is commenced by filing the summons and complaint, under CPLR 304. Service then follows within 120 days under CPLR 306-b.
- A personal-injury complaint pleads general allegations; New York does not require an itemised damages figure in the complaint for a personal-injury action, under CPLR 3017(c).
- Venue is laid under CPLR 503, generally by a party’s residence or where the cause of action arose.
Authority: CPLR 304, 306-b, 503, 3017(c); CPLR 1411(b) (filing-date trigger)
3. Pleadings and the bill of particulars
The defendant answers, usually denying everything and asserting defences including your own comparative fault. You then provide a detailed written account of your injuries and losses.
What this involves
- Comparative fault is an affirmative defence the defendant must plead and prove under CPLR 1412 — it is not the plaintiff’s burden to disprove.
- The bill of particulars under CPLR 3043 amplifies the pleading in personal-injury actions: the injuries claimed, the special damages, and the respects in which the defendant was negligent. It is not evidence, but it binds the theory of the case.
- A motion to dismiss on the pleadings is made under CPLR 3211.
Authority: CPLR 3011, 3018, 3025, 3043, 3211, 1412
4. Disclosure
Both sides exchange information. This is the longest phase and the one clients feel most, because it includes your deposition and a medical examination by a doctor the defence chooses.
What this involves
- The standard is broad: CPLR 3101(a) requires full disclosure of all matter material and necessary, regardless of the burden of proof.
- Insurance disclosure is mandatory and detailed. Under CPLR 3101(f) a defendant must, no later than ninety days after service of an answer, produce proof of every primary, excess and umbrella policy relating to the claim — the complete policy including declarations, conditions, exclusions and endorsements; the name and e-mail of the adjuster assigned; and the total limits actually available after erosion. The obligation is continuing, with updates required at the note of issue, on entering court-supervised settlement negotiations, at mediation, when the case is called for trial, and for sixty days after settlement or final judgment.
- A defendant may require a physical examination under CPLR 3121 — in practice the defence medical examination, often still called an IME.
- Medical records are reached through authorisations; a plaintiff who puts their physical condition in issue waives the physician-patient privilege as to that condition.
Authority: CPLR 3101(a), 3101(f), 3120, 3121, 3124, 3126
5. The deposition (EBT)
You answer questions under oath, with a court reporter present and your lawyer beside you. There is no judge. It usually takes a few hours. The transcript follows weeks later for you to review and sign.
What this involves
- Objections are sharply limited. Under 22 NYCRR 221.1 no objection may be made except those that would be waived under CPLR 3115(b)–(d) if not raised; the objection is noted and the witness still answers. Speaking objections are prohibited: an objection must be stated succinctly and framed so as not to suggest an answer.
- Directions not to answer are narrower still. Under 22 NYCRR 221.2 counsel may not direct a deponent not to answer except to preserve a privilege or right of confidentiality, to enforce a court-ordered limitation, or where the question is plainly improper and would cause significant prejudice. The basis must be stated with a clear, concise explanation, and the examining party may complete the remainder of the deposition.
- Conferring with the witness mid-answer is restricted. Under 22 NYCRR 221.3 counsel may not interrupt to confer with the deponent unless all parties consent, or the conference is to determine whether a 221.2 ground applies — and then the reason must be stated on the record.
- The witness has 60 days to review, correct and subscribe the transcript under CPLR 3116(a). Corrections are made with the reasons given; the original answer stays in.
- Deposition testimony may be used at trial under CPLR 3117, including against a party for any purpose.
Authority: CPLR 3106–3117; 22 NYCRR Part 221 (221.1, 221.2, 221.3)
6. Expert disclosure
Each side identifies the doctors and specialists who will testify about causation, permanence and the cost of future care.
What this involves
- New York expert practice is unusual and favours the party who waits. Under CPLR 3101(d)(1)(i) disclosure is triggered only "upon request", and the rule sets no deadline. A party must identify each expert expected to testify and disclose the subject matter, the substance of the facts and opinions, the expert’s qualifications and a summary of the grounds for the opinion.
- There is no expert deposition as of right in an ordinary New York personal-injury action — a sharp contrast with federal practice and with most neighbouring states.
- Late retention is forgiven by statute: where a party for good cause retains an expert too late to comply, the testimony is not automatically precluded, and the court may make whatever order is just.
- In medical, dental and podiatric malpractice actions the expert’s name may be omitted, though all other required information must still be disclosed.
- Admissibility is governed by Frye, not Daubert. New York asks whether the methodology is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community, and requires a proper foundation connecting the general methodology to the specific causation opinion.
Authority: CPLR 3101(d)(1)(i), (iii); CPLR 4515; Frye v United States as adopted in People v Wesley, 83 NY2d 417; Parker v Mobil Oil Corp., 7 NY3d 434; Cornell v 360 W. 51st St. Realty, 22 NY3d 762
7. Note of issue and summary judgment
Discovery closes, the case is certified ready for trial, and the parties make their last pre-trial motions.
What this involves
- The note of issue and certificate of readiness are filed under CPLR 3402 and 22 NYCRR 202.21, placing the case on the trial calendar.
- Summary judgment must be moved within 120 days after the note of issue is filed, unless the court sets an earlier date or grants leave on good cause shown. A court-set cutoff may not fall earlier than thirty days after the note of issue. CPLR 3212(a).
- The motion is granted only where the cause of action or defence is established sufficiently to warrant judgment as a matter of law, and denied where any party shows facts requiring a trial of an issue of fact. CPLR 3212(b).
- In a motor-vehicle case the serious-injury threshold is the usual battleground here, and since the 2026 amendment deleted the 90/180-day category the defence motion has become materially stronger against soft-tissue claims.
Authority: CPLR 3402, 3212(a), (b); 22 NYCRR 202.21
8. Trial preparation and trial
Most cases settle before this point. If yours does not, a jury of six decides it.
What this involves
- A civil jury in New York is six jurors, under CPLR 4104. Five of six must agree on a verdict under CPLR 4113(a).
- The jury is given an itemised verdict in a personal-injury action under CPLR 4111(d)–(f), separating past and future damages and specifying the number of years for each future category. That itemisation is what makes later structured-judgment and appellate review possible.
- In a motor-vehicle case the 2026 amendment changed the order of decision: under Insurance Law § 5104(a) the trier of fact determines fault before determining whether the injury is serious.
- Collateral source offsets are determined post-verdict under CPLR 4545, reducing economic damages replaced from other sources.
- Post-trial relief — to set aside the verdict or for a new trial — is sought under CPLR 4404.
Authority: CPLR 4104, 4111, 4113, 4404, 4545; Insurance Law § 5104(a)
9. Judgment, appeal and payment
A verdict is not money. Entering judgment, surviving appeal and actually collecting are separate steps.
What this involves
- Future damages above a statutory threshold are not paid as a lump sum. CPLR article 50-B requires the court to structure the judgment for future damages in a personal-injury action, which is why the itemised verdict under CPLR 4111 matters so much.
- Pre-judgment interest on a personal-injury award runs from the date liability is established under CPLR 5002, at the statutory rate of 9% per annum under CPLR 5004. Note that the 2026 amendment means a negligence finding alone no longer starts that clock in a motor-vehicle case — serious injury must also be established.
- On appeal the Appellate Division reviews the amount of the award, not merely the law: under CPLR 5501(c) an award is excessive or inadequate if it "deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation." This is a broader damages review than most states permit and is a central feature of New York appellate practice.
- Settlements must be funded promptly. Under CPLR 5003-a a settling defendant must pay within 21 days of tender of a duly executed release and stipulation of discontinuance; a municipality or non-State-indemnified public corporation has 90 days, and the State has 90 days from the Comptroller’s determination that the papers are complete. Insurance carriers for those public entities are held to the 21-day rule. If payment is late, the plaintiff may enter judgment without further notice for the settlement amount plus costs, disbursements and interest from the date of tender.
Authority: CPLR 5002, 5003-a, 5004, 5501(c), 5601–5602, art. 50-B (§§ 5041–5045); CPLR 4111