​The Supreme Court of Nassau County, New York has granted a Motion to Dismiss filed by Clark & Fox in an insurance coverage action filed in contravention of the subject policy’s suit limitation clause. John Clark, Georgia Foerstner, and Patrick Reilly litigated this matter on behalf of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London. Bachir v. Lloyd’s of London concerned a claim regarding a fire loss to a restaurant that was denied due to the late payment of a policy premium. The policy in question contained a suit limitation clause requiring any actions to be brought within two years of the loss. Nearly three years after the loss, the policyholder filed a Summons in the Supreme Court of Suffolk County against Underwriters and other defendants. This Summons was ultimately dismissed due to the policyholder’s failure to file a complaint. The policyholder did not appeal the dismissal. Rather, over 2 ½ years after the dismissal, the policyholder filed a second action in Nassau County against the same defendants.

​In dismissing the action, the Court emphasized that as the first action was dismissed for failure to prosecute, a civil rule allowing certain dismissed cases to be re-filed following the expiration of a limitation period did not apply. Rather, the Court found that the action was clearly time-barred.