In Sabine v. State of New York, the Court of Appeals recently addressed the issue of the point at which a personal injury action accrues under New York’s no fault insurance regime for purposes of the imposition of prejudgment interest. The question of when prejudgment interest begins to accrue in bifurcated automobile accident actions has divided the Appellate Divisions for a long time. In a memorandum decision, a majority of the court found that the issue had not been preserved for appeal and did not discuss the underlying merits.

A three-judge dissent, however, did consider the substantive merits and found that prejudgment interest should be calculated from the date plaintiff obtained summary judgment on the issue of liability and not from the later date on which plaintiff obtained a verdict that he sustained a “serious injury” entitling him to recover non-economic damages under Article V of the Insurance Law.