Distribution of recovery in favor of party with insufficient means to pay costs, fees, and expenses
§ 1103. Distribution of recovery in favor of party with insufficient means to pay costs, fees, and expenses. Where a court grants a motion pursuant to subdivision (a) of section one thousand one hundred one of this article, recovery by judgment or by settlement had in favor of the moving party shall be paid to the clerk of the court in which the order determining the motion was entered, to await distribution pursuant to court order.
Where a § 1101(a) motion was granted, any recovery (judgment or settlement) in the moving party's favor is paid to the clerk of the court where the order was entered, to await distribution by court order.★ (This is what lets the court enforce the § 1102(d) clawback.)
★ Exam hits:
Poor person relief waives costs, fees, and expenses for a party with insufficient means (§ 1101(a)); the affidavit must state income/assets/real property, inability to pay, nature of the action, merit facts, and any other beneficially-interested person.
Notice of the motion goes to all parties and the county attorney (NYC: corporation counsel) — § 1101(c). Appellate motions are decided on the merits, not remanded (§ 1101(a)).
Form-affidavit fee waiver (§ 1101(d)): case gets an index number up front; if denied, dismissed unless the fee is paid within 120 days.
Legal-aid / legal-services clients: fees waived automatically, NO motion needed — just an attorney's certification (§ 1101(e)).
Incarcerated individuals (§ 1101(f)): reduced filing fee of $15 minimum, $50 maximum, based on a 6-month trust-fund-account statement; never barred for having no assets; not available for Art. 78 jail-time-credit claims.
Privileges (§ 1102): assigned attorney; free transcript (clerk notifies stenographer in 2 days, stenographer produces 2 transcripts in 20 days; county/city charge); typewritten briefs (one copy per justice); no cost liability unless you recover (then clawback from the recovery).
Recovery is paid to the court clerk to await court-ordered distribution (§ 1103).
Verbatim statute: CPLR - Article 11
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
In print
This provision appears in Volume 2 — The JG-22 CPLR and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.