N.Y. Judiciary Law § 780: Sheriff liable for taking insufficient sureties

§ 780. Sheriff liable for taking insufficient sureties. After the

return of an execution, issued upon a judgment, rendered in an action

upon the undertaking, an action, to recover the amount of the judgment,

may be maintained against the sheriff, where it appears that, at the

time when the undertaking was given, the sureties were insufficient, and

the sheriff had reasonable grounds to doubt their sufficiency. Such an

action may be maintained by the plaintiff, in whose favor the judgment

was recovered. If the people were plaintiffs, the action must be

prosecuted by the attorney-general or the district attorney; and any

money collected therein must be disposed of, as prescribed in the last

section.