2023 New York Laws › CVP - Civil Practice Law and Rules › Article 45 - Evidence › 4519 - Personal Transaction or Communication Between Witness and Decedent or Person With a Mental Illness.

§  4519.  Personal  transaction  or  communication between witness and
  decedent or person with a mental illness. Upon the trial of an action or
  the hearing upon the merits of a special proceeding, a party or a person
  interested in the event, or a person from, through or under whom such  a
  party  or  interested person derives his interest or title by assignment
  or otherwise, shall not be examined as a witness in his  own  behalf  or
  interest,  or in behalf of the party succeeding to his title or interest
  against the executor, administrator or survivor of a deceased person  or
  the  committee  of  a person with a mental illness, or a person deriving
  his title or interest from, through or under a deceased person or person
  with a mental illness, by assignment or otherwise, concerning a personal
  transaction or communication between the witness and the deceased person
  or  person  with  a  mental  illness,   except   where   the   executor,
  administrator,  survivor,  committee  or  person  so  deriving  title or
  interest is examined in his own behalf, or the testimony of  the  person
  with  a  mental  illness  or  deceased  person  is  given  in  evidence,
  concerning the same transaction or communication. A person shall not  be
  deemed  interested for the purposes of this section by reason of being a
  stockholder or officer of any banking corporation which is  a  party  to
  the  action  or proceeding, or interested in the event thereof. No party
  or person interested  in  the  event,  who  is  otherwise  competent  to
  testify,   shall   be  disqualified  from  testifying  by  the  possible
  imposition of costs against him or the award of costs to him. A party or
  person interested in the event or a person from, through or  under  whom
  such  a  party  or  interested  person  derives his interest or title by
  assignment or otherwise, shall not be qualified for the purposes of this
  section, to testify in his own behalf or interest, or in behalf  of  the
  party  succeeding  to his title or interest, to personal transactions or
  communications with the donee of a power of appointment in an action  or
  proceeding  for  the  probate  of a will, which exercises or attempts to
  exercise a power of appointment granted by the will of a donor  of  such
  power,  or  in an action or proceeding involving the construction of the
  will of the donee after its admission to probate.
Nothing contained in this section,  however,  shall  render  a  person
  incompetent  to  testify  as  to the facts of an accident or the results
  therefrom where the proceeding, hearing,  defense  or  cause  of  action
  involves  a  claim of negligence or contributory negligence in an action
  wherein one or more parties is  the  representative  of  a  deceased  or
  incompetent  person  based  upon,  or  by  reason  of,  the operation or
  ownership of a motor vehicle being operated upon  the  highways  of  the
  state,  or  the operation or ownership of aircraft being operated in the
  air space over the state, or the operation or ownership of a  vessel  on
  any of the lakes, rivers, streams, canals or other waters of this state,
  but  this provision shall not be construed as permitting testimony as to
  conversations with the deceased.