Key Takeaway
Court ruling on waiver of jurisdictional challenges in compulsory arbitration when parties fail to seek timely stay within 20-day period under NY Insurance Law.
In UM and SUM arbitration, it has been held that the failure to stay the arbitration within 20-days of the service of an intent to arbitrate waives the right to contest jurisdictional issues. We learn today that a modified rule holds true for UM arbitrations.
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Statewide Ins. Co., 2010 NY Slip Op 50588(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2010)
“Petitioner argued that the matter was not subject to mandatory arbitration since, although the application for arbitration alleged that its insured’s vehicle weighed over 6,500 pounds, its insured’s vehicle did not weigh more than 6,500 pounds (see Insurance Law § 5105 ). In a judgment entered January 14, 2009, the Civil Court denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding. The instant appeal by petitioner ensued.
Since petitioner failed to apply for a stay of arbitration prior to the arbitration, it waived its claim that the matter was not arbitrable under Insurance Law § 5105 (see Matter of Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. , 234 AD2d 901 ; see also Matter of Silverman , 61 NY2d 299 ; Matter of Utica Mut. Ins. Co. v Incorporated Vil. of Floral Park, 262 AD2d 565 ). Consequently, the petition to vacate the arbitration award was properly denied.”
Related Articles
- The failure to serve a demand for master arbitral review in the manner set forth in the regulations will foreclose review of the underlying award
- Gary T day
- Trial de novos and exhausting administrative remedies
- Good luck trying to vacate a no-fault arbitration award pursuant to Article 75
Legal Update (February 2026): Since this 2010 decision, New York’s no-fault insurance regulations and arbitration procedures under Insurance Law § 5105 may have been subject to regulatory amendments or procedural modifications. Practitioners should verify current arbitration stay requirements, jurisdictional thresholds, and waiver provisions, as these procedural rules are periodically updated through regulatory changes.
