Opinion
May 27, 1997
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (O'Shaughnessy, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
It is well settled that in a proceeding to stay arbitration of an uninsured motorist claim, the petitioner bears the initial burden of proving that the offending vehicle was insured at the time of the accident. If the petitioner meets this burden, the burden shifts to the party seeking to disclaim coverage to prove that the vehicle was not insured by it at the time of the accident by demonstrating that it had cancelled the policy prior to the accident (see, Matter of State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Kanter, 217 A.D.2d 633; Matter of State-Wide Ins. Co. v. Morales, 204 A.D.2d 336, 337; Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v. Ramirez, 208 A.D.2d 828, 829; Matter of Worldwide Underwriters Ins. Co. v Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., 181 A.D.2d 784). We agree with the Supreme Court that the petitioner failed to sustain its burden of establishing that the offending vehicle was covered by insurance.
Bracken, J.P., O'Brien, Santucci, Friedmann and Goldstein, JJ., concur.