Severance and separate trials · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 603. Severance and separate trials. In furtherance of convenience or to avoid prejudice the court may order a severance of claims, or may order a separate trial of any claim, or of any separate issue. The court may order the trial of any claim or issue prior to the trial of the others.
A court may split claims or issues when that would be more convenient or would prevent prejudice. It may order separate trials and may decide that one claim or issue will be tried before the others. ★
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 1 — The Court Clerk in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Clerk: Civil Practice Law and Rules; Volume 1 — Your Career: Civil Practice in Plain English.