A claim is commenced by completing the following steps (see Court of Claims Act §11[a]):
- preparing a document called a "claim",
- filing the original and two copies, together with a filing fee of $50.00 or an application for waiver or reduction of the fee with the Clerk of the Court, and
- serving a copy upon the Attorney General, either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Filing occurs on the date when a claim is received in the office of the Chief Clerk, in Albany, not when it is mailed. Claims cannot be filed with the various district offices and judges' chambers around the State. A claim can be filed by: (1) personal delivery, (2) regular mail, (3) fax (limit of 50 pages) (see Filing by Fax), or (4) NYSCEF (E-Filing) system (see Filing by Electronic Means).
Personal service upon the State is accomplished by delivering the claim to an Assistant Attorney General at an office of the Attorney General, or by delivery to the Attorney General himself or herself. Delivery to a secretary or clerk at the Attorney General's office is not good service.
Certified mail, return receipt requested does not include express mail or registered mail, even though a return receipt is requested, and it does not include certified mail without a return receipt being requested. As with filing, service is accomplished when the claim is received by the Attorney General, not when it is mailed.
Note that when the defendant is the New York State Thruway Authority, the City University of New York, or the New York State Power Authority, that defendant must be served in addition to the Attorney General.
Additionally, for actions sounding in tort or wrongful death against Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation, Public Authorities Law § 3567 requires that a Notice of Claim be served upon that corporation pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-e before the action is commenced in the Court of Claims.