New York, N.Y. (June 11, 2020) - On June 6,
2020, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.38, which continues
until July 6, 2020, the tolling of civil deadlines in response to
the COVID-19 crisis. This applies to all statutes of limitations as
contained in the CPLR, as well as notice of claim deadlines as
contained in the General Municipal Law. Therefore, for all statute
of limitations and notice of claim deadlines, the tolling period is
subtracted and does not count towards the deadline.
In his original Executive Order tolling these deadlines, dated
March 7, 2020, the Governor suspended "any specific time limit
for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action,
notice, motion, or other process or proceeding, as prescribed by
the procedural laws of the state, including but not limited to the
... civil practice law and rules, the court of claims act, the
surrogate's court procedure act, and the uniform court acts, or
by any other statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or
regulation, or part thereof," until April 19, 2020. A series
of subsequent orders extended the deadline further, with this most
recent one, Executive Order 202.38, extending it at least until
July 6, 2020.
Examples of New Deadlines
Notice of claim: If the accident date was January 1, 2020, the claimant would normally have until April 1, 2020 (90 days) to file a notice of claim. Following the latest Executive Order, the claimant counts the number of days between January 1 and the start of the toll on March 7, which is 66 days. They get 90 days total, so 90 days minus the 66 days already used up equals 24 days. As of now, the tolling period is supposed to end on July 6 (it is unclear whether this will actually be the case, but as of now, it is the working date). So, the claimant adds the remaining 24 days they have left to July 6, which brings them to July 30. So, in this example, the claimant has until July 30 to file a notice of claim.
Personal injury lawsuit: If the accident date was April 1, 2017, the claimant would normally have until April 1 2020 (3 years) to file a personal injury lawsuit. Now, the claimant counts the number of days between April 1, 2017 and the start of the toll on March 7, 2020, which is 1,072 days. They get 3 years total (1,095 days), so 1,095 days minus the 1,072 days already used up equals 23 days. As of now, the tolling period is supposed to end on July 6 (it is unclear whether this will actually be the case, but as of now, it is the working date). So, the claimant adds the remaining 23 days they have left to July 6, which brings them to July 29. So, in this example, the claimant has until July 29 to file a summons and complaint.
If you have any questions about this latest Executive Order or any other matters involving the New York court system, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also visit our COVID-19 Response Resource Center for more alerts on a wide variety of legal areas impacted by the pandemic.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.