Tolling Provision of CPLR 205(a) Does Not Apply to Out-of-State Actions

On June 15, 2017, the First Department issued a decision in Deadco Petroleum v. Trafigura AG, 2017 NY Slip Op. 04887, holding that claims timely brought in California but later dismissed were time-barred because the tolling provision of CPLR 205(a) does not apply to out-of-state actions, explaining:

The breach of partnership/strategic partnership, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud claims, which arose under the PSA, are time-barred pursuant to the PSA's two-year limitations provision. These claims accrued, at the latest, in February 2012, when plaintiff alleges that it discovered them. While the California action was timely commenced, the tolling provision of CPLR 205(a) does not avail plaintiff, because an out-of-state action is not a prior action within the meaning of that provision.

(Internal quotations and citations omitted).