Opinion
March 8, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Stark, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The appellant failed to respond to a motion by the respondent United States Automobile Association (hereinafter USAA), inter alia, for a permanent stay of arbitration of her claim for uninsured motorist benefits, and the motion was granted on her default. We find that the Supreme Court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in denying her subsequent motion to vacate her default.
The appellant was required to establish both a reasonable excuse for her default and a meritorious defense to USAA's application for a stay of arbitration (see, e.g., Fidelity Deposit Co. v. Andersen Co., 60 N.Y.2d 693; Fox v. Bicanic, 163 A.D.2d 272; Eveready Ins. Co. v. Devissiere, 134 A.D.2d 323). Here, the bare assertion by the appellant's attorney that the default was due to the transfer of the file from the appellant's former attorney to substituted counsel was insufficient to establish a reasonable excuse, particularly since the record indicates that the substitution took place after the motion was decided, and no contradictory proof was offered.
Moreover, the appellant failed to present facts sufficient to establish a valid defense to USAA's claim that it is entitled to a permanent stay of arbitration because it was not provided with timely notice of her uninsured motorist claim. Absent a valid excuse, the failure to satisfy the notice requirement in a policy vitiates coverage (see, Matter of Allcity Ins. Co. v. Jimenez, 78 N.Y.2d 1054; Security Mut. Ins. Co. v. Acker-Fitzsimons, 31 N.Y.2d 436; Matter of Merchants Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hurban, 160 A.D.2d 873). The appellant failed to explain the delay for over a year after the accident in notifying USAA of her uninsured motorist claim, and she offered no evidence that she diligently sought to ascertain the insured status of the offending vehicle (see, e.g., Matter of State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. v. Pizzonia, 147 A.D.2d 703; State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Romero, 109 A.D.2d 786). In the absence of evidence that notice was given "as soon as was reasonably possible" (Insurance Law § 3420 [a] [4]), USAA was entitled to a permanent stay of arbitration. Thompson, J.P., Sullivan, O'Brien and Copertino, JJ., concur.