Empire Mut. Ins. Co. v. Samya

• Decision Date: 06 March 1984
• Citation: 472 N.Y.S.2d 666,99 A.D.2d 973
• Parties: In re Arbitration Attempted to be had between EMPIRE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner-Respondent, v. Mordechai SAMYA, Respondent-Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 666

472 N.Y.S.2d 666

99 A.D.2d 973

In re Arbitration Attempted to be had between EMPIRE MUTUAL

INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner-Respondent, v. Mordechai SAMYA, Respondent-Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division,

First Department.

March 6, 1984.

A.B. Salib, New York City, for petitioner-respondent.

R.V. Zand, for respondent-appellant.

Before KUPFERMAN, J.P., and ROSS, ASCH, FEIN and KASSAL, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.

Judgment and order (one paper) of the Supreme Court, New York County entered July 30, 1983, which granted the petition and permanently stayed arbitration, reversed on the law and the petition for a stay denied with costs.

The respondent-appellant Samya allegedly was hit by an unknown vehicle which left the accident scene at an intersection in Brooklyn. He was hospitalized by ambulance, where he was confined from the date of the accident July 14, 1982, to July 19. On July 21 he filed a police report.

The uninsured motorist endorsement of the insurance policy pursuant to which Samya filed a demand for arbitration and a notice of intention to make a claim, required that the insured or someone on his behalf "have reported the accident within 24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible" to the police.

In view of the seemingly legitimate hospitalization, the report was made within a reasonable time.

All concur.