Application of article
§ 201. Application of article. An action, including one brought in the name or for the benefit of the state, must be commenced within the time specified in this article unless a different time is prescribed by law or a shorter time is prescribed by written agreement. No court shall extend the time limited by law for the commencement of an action.
Every action — even one brought by or for the State — must be started within the time this article sets, unless another law gives a different time or a written agreement sets a shorter one. ★ The killer line: no court can extend the time to commence an action. ★ Once the clock expires, a judge has zero power to give you more. Parties can shrink the window by contract, but not stretch it.
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.
This provision appears in Volume 2 — The JG-22 CPLR and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.