Termination of action
§ 205. Termination of action. (a) New action by plaintiff. If an action is timely commenced and is terminated in any other manner than by a voluntary discontinuance, a failure to obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant, a dismissal of the complaint for neglect to prosecute the action, or a final judgment upon the merits, the plaintiff, or, if the plaintiff dies, and the cause of action survives, his or her executor or administrator, may commence a new action upon the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences within six months after the termination provided that the new action would have been timely commenced at the time of commencement of the prior action and that service upon defendant is effected within such six-month period. Where a dismissal is one for neglect to prosecute the action made pursuant to rule thirty-two hundred sixteen of this chapter or otherwise, the judge shall set forth on the record the specific conduct constituting the neglect, which conduct shall demonstrate a general pattern of delay in proceeding with the litigation.
(b) Defense or counterclaim. Where the defendant has served an answer and the action is terminated in any manner, and a new action upon the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences is commenced by the plaintiff or his successor in interest, the assertion of any cause of action or defense by the defendant in the new action shall be timely if it was timely asserted in the prior action.
(c) Application. This section also applies to a proceeding brought under the workers' compensation law but shall not apply to any proceeding governed by section two hundred five-a of this article.
If you timely sued but the case ended not by voluntary discontinuance, not by failure to get personal jurisdiction, not by dismissal for neglect to prosecute, and not by final judgment on the merits, you (or your executor) may start a new action on the same facts within 6 months — provided the first action was timely and service is made within that 6-month period. ★ For a "neglect to prosecute" dismissal, the judge must state on the record the specific conduct showing a general pattern of delay. (b) covers reviving a defendant's timely-asserted defense/counterclaim. (c) applies to workers' comp proceedings but not to matters under § 205-a.
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.