IN RE: STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANY (1998)

In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 75 for a temporary stay of arbitration of an uninsured motorist claim, the appeal is from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Bucaria, J.), entered December 23, 1997, which granted the petition.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the petition is denied, and the proceeding is dismissed.

The record indicates that the petitioner had ample time to seek discovery of the respondent as provided for in the underlying insurance policy, and that its failure to do so was unjustified.   Thus, the petitioner should not have been granted a temporary stay of arbitration in order to obtain such discovery (see, Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v. Garcia, 251 A.D.2d 500, 673 N.Y.S.2d 589;  Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v. Faulk, 250 A.D.2d 674, 671 N.Y.S.2d 689;  Matter of Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. DeCaro, 244 A.D.2d 487, 665 N.Y.S.2d 910;  Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v. Urena, 208 A.D.2d 623, 618 N.Y.S.2d 219;  cf., Matter of Metropolitan Property & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Keeney, 241 A.D.2d 455, 660 N.Y.S.2d 54).

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.