Key Takeaway
Court rules 15-day insurance cancellation notice means 360 hours, not calendar days. Supreme Court incorrectly calculated notice period in Global Liberty v Cedillo case.
Matter of Global Liberty Ins. of N.Y. v Cedillo, 2017 NY Slip Op 00165 (2d Dept. 2016)
At a framed-issue hearing, the evidence showed that the respondent National Continental Insurance Co. (hereinafter National) had issued a policy to Sidibe effective October 23, 2008, through October 23, 2009, but that on November 5, 2008, at “6:00,” it mailed to Sidibe a notice of cancellation for nonpayment of the premium, which advised that the subject policy would be cancelled effective November 20, 2008, at 12:01 a.m. The Supreme Court found that the cancellation of the policy was valid based upon the 15-day notice and, therefore, denied the petition and dismissed the proceeding.
Under the terms of the subject policy, and pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 313(1)(a), National was required to give a minimum of 15 days’ notice for cancellation of coverage for nonpayment. “n the absence of an express agreement to do so, the law does not recognize fractions of a day” (Savino v Merchants Mut. Ins. Co., 44 NY2d 625, 628). Thus, the 15 days specified in the Vehicle and Traffic Law ” means 15 times 24 hours’” (Matter of Nassau Ins. Co. , 63 AD2d 473, 475 quoting Nassau Ins. Co. v Lion Ins. Co., 89 Misc 2d 982, 986 ; see Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. , 300 AD2d 1065). Here, because National failed to give the full 15 days’ notice, its notice of cancellation was invalid. The contentions raised in National’s brief are without merit. Accordingly, the Supreme Court should have granted the petition to permanently stay arbitration
This was an interesting case because the proof showed that there was either 14.75 days notice (probably) or 14.25 days notice. Neither is 15 days notice. Supreme Court said 15 days is 15 calendar days. Well, Supreme Court got this one wrong, and I got this one right.
