On March 2, 2023, the First Department issued a decision in Freedom Trust 2011-2 v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., 2023 NY Slip Op. 01135, holding that tolling agreements can collectively be made for longer than the statute of limitations period so long as each individual agreement does not exceed the limitations period, explaining:
In support of its motion to dismiss the action as untimely, defendant primarily argues that this Court must apply New York’s General Obligations Law § 17-103 to the parties’ tolling agreements thus rendering them unenforceable. However, even assuming that General Obligations Law § 17-103 applies, the motion court properly enforced the tolling agreements.
General Obligations Law § 17-103 concerns a promise to waive, to extend, or not to plead the statute of limitation on a breach of contract claim. Giving effect to the statute’s plain language, the court properly found that a promise refers to a single promise, and that the statute only limits the amount of tolling that can be attached to each of the individual tolling agreements. Nothing in the statutory text or otherwise prohibits a party from making consecutive promises to toll the limitations period.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted) (emphasis added).