CLARENDON NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY v. << (1999)

Respondent appeals from an order that granted reargument of the petition and, upon reargument, granted in part the petition and permanently stayed 27 of the 30 loss-transfer arbitrations at issue.   We affirm.

After the collision of a bus and a passenger vehicle, the injured bus passengers filed no-fault claims with the insurers of both vehicles.   Respondent submitted to arbitration 30 loss-transfer claims against petitioner, which then sought to stay arbitration contending, inter alia, that the claims accrued on the date of the underlying accident and were barred by the three-year Statute of Limitations (see, CPLR 214[5] ).

 Supreme Court properly treated petitioner's motion as one to reargue because the Statute of Limitations was raised in the petition (see, Fedchak v. Stay Co., 222 A.D.2d 1125, 636 N.Y.S.2d 709;  cf., Mid-State El. Co. v. Empire-Salina Assocs. [Appeal No. 2], 190 A.D.2d 1061, 594 N.Y.S.2d 667;  see also, CPLR 7502[b] ) and properly granted in part the petition, permanently staying the 27 arbitrations.   It is well-settled that loss-transfer arbitration claims between private insurers accrue on the date of the underlying injury (see, State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Regional Tr. Serv., 79 A.D.2d 858, 859, 434 N.Y.S.2d 486;  Transamerica Ins. Co. v. Lumbermen's Cas. Ins. Co., 77 A.D.2d 5, 7, 432 N.Y.S.2d 269, lv. denied 53 N.Y.2d 602, 439 N.Y.S.2d 1026, 421 N.E.2d 853;  cf., Matter of Motor Vehicle Acc. Indem. Corp. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 N.Y.2d 214, 652 N.Y.S.2d 584, 674 N.E.2d 1349 [involving an agency of statutory creation] ).

Order unanimously affirmed without costs.

MEMORANDUM: