THE COVID STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS TOLLS EXPLAINED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, explained how the COVID toll of the statute of limitations works:

“A toll does not extend the statute of limitations indefinitely but merely suspends the running of the applicable statute of limitations for a finite and, in this instance, readily identifiable time period” … . “[T]he period of the toll is excluded from the calculation of the time in which the plaintiff can commence an action” (id.). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 20, 2020, the Governor issued [an] Executive Order … , which tolled “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 . . . from the date of this order until April 19, 2020.” The Governor later issued a series of nine subsequent executive orders that extended the tolling period through November 3, 2020 … . Thus, here, the statute of limitations was tolled from March 20, 2020, at which time 289 days remained in the limitations period, until November 3, 2020, and thereafter the “statute of limitations began to run again, expiring on [August 19, 2021]” … . State of New York v Williams, 2024 NY Slip Op 00709, Fourth Dept 2-9-24

Practice Point: The number of days left on the statute of limitations when the COVID toll was imposed remains when the toll is lifted.