Sterling Natl. Bank v Travelers Cas.

Sterling Natl. Bank v Travelers Cas. 2012 NY Slip Op 02062 Decided on March 20, 2012 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided on March 20, 2012
Mazzarelli, J.P., Saxe, Renwick, Richter, Abdus-Salaam, JJ. 7152- 7153-
7154 601543/04

[*1]Sterling National Bank, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v

Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, Defendant-Respondent.




Kaplan Landau LLP, New York (Mark Landau of counsel), for
appellant.
Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon, LLP, New York
(Daniel W. White of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Shirley Werner Kornreich, J.), entered March 15, 2011, dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, with costs. Appeals from orders, same court and Justice, entered December 7, 2010, which denied plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, and granted defendant's motion for summery judgment, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as subsumed in the appeal from the judgment.

By letter dated May 9, 2002, plaintiff's general counsel gave defendant notice of the discovery of a loss under the subject bond. Plaintiff commenced this action on May 21, 2004. Since the action was not commenced within two years after the discovery of the loss, as required by the bond, it was untimely.

Contrary to plaintiff's contention, the June 2003 letter agreement between the parties did not toll the contractual limitations period. It contains no language tolling or extending the two-year time period. Nor did plaintiff offer any evidence of bad faith behavior on defendant's part [*2]to support its estoppel argument.

We have considered plaintiff's remaining arguments and find
them unavailing.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: MARCH 20, 2012

CLERK