CPLR 205(a) is the popular provision that generally allows a party who has timely commenced an action, which is ultimately dismissed, to commence a new action based upon the same transaction or occurrence provided that filing and service of the initiatory papers are made within six months after the dismissal. This provision has rescued countless plaintiffs who have encountered obstacles of all sorts in prosecuting a prior action, with life and death almost always on the line when it is invoked. Therefore, CPLR 205(a) is frequently the subject of judicial interpretation.
The benevolence afforded by CPLR 205(a) is denied to cases that fall into one of four categories: (1) those terminated through voluntary discontinuance, see CPLR 3217, (2) those dismissed based on a lack of personal jurisdiction, (3) those terminating in a final judgment on the merits, and (4) those dismissed “for neglect to prosecute the action.”
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