WHEN PURELY ECONOMIC INJURY IS ALLEGED, THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES WHERE THE PLAINTIFF RESIDES; HERE PLAINTIFF RESIDED IN FLORIDA AND, PURSUANT TO NEW YORK’S BORROWING STATUTE, THE FLORIDA STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS APPLIED, RENDERING THE FRAUDULENT-TRANSFER ACTION UNTIMELY (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the borrowing statute required that the Florida statute of limitations for an action alleging the fraudulent transfer of property be applied, rendering the action time-barred. Plaintiff, a Florida resident, alleged the transfer of property in New York, by defendant, a New York resident, was fraudulent in that it rendered the defendant judgment proof. The Third Department determined the injury occurred in Florida, not New York:
… [T]he parties dispute the applicability of CPLR 202, New York’s “borrowing” statute, which … provides that “[w]hen a nonresident sues on a claim that accrued outside of New York, the cause of action must be commenced within the time period provided by New York’s statute of limitations, as well as the statute of limitations in effect in the jurisdiction where the cause of action in fact accrued” … . “[A] cause of action accrues at the time and in the place of the injury . . . in tort cases involving the interpretation of CPLR 202” … . Relevant here, “[w]hen an alleged injury is purely economic, the place of injury usually is where the plaintiff resides and sustains the economic impact of the loss” … .
While plaintiff asks that we draw a distinction between tort and contract matters as it pertains to the principle that locates his economic harm — and thus accrual of his various causes of action — in his state of residence, we find little support for that premise. Although the tortious act may have occurred when the property was transferred in this state, that does not establish that the accompanying injury to plaintiff was also felt in this state or that the cause of action accrued here … . Erdely v Estate of Airday, 2023 NY Slip Op 01827, Third Dept 4-6-23
Practice Point: Here plaintiff, a Florida resident, alleged defendant, a New York resident, fraudulently transferred New York property, making defendant judgment proof. Because plaintiff alleged purely economic injury (the inability to collect money judgments), the injury occurred where plaintiff resided. Therefore, pursuant to New York’s borrowing statute, the Florida statute of limitations applied, rendering the action untimely.