March 16, 2016

Matter of Singh v Allstate Ins. Co. (2016 NY Slip Op 01855)

https://www.beynensonlaw.com/case-law/matter-of-singh-v-allstate-ins-co-2016-ny-slip-op-01855/

Court: Appellate Division, Second Department
Decided: March 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 NY Slip Op 01855 · 137 AD3d 1046
Posture: Article 75 petition
Outcome: Insurer prevailed
Later treatment: Contrasted (cf., but see) in 1 later decision (see Cited by)
Issues: CPLR article 75 (arbitration awards)
Legal questions: Court review of arbitration awards (see the maps)

Cite as

Matter of Singh v Allstate Ins. Co., 137 AD3d 1046 (2d Dept 2016)

Posture, outcome, issues and treatment by other decisions are Beynenson Law’s classification. Treatment labels are assigned by a language model reading the citing decision; negative and appeal-history labels are checked by a second reader.

Summary

Editorial summary by Beynenson Law, not part of the court’s decision.

The injured claimant's petition to vacate four master arbitration awards denying lost-wage benefits was denied for lack of a vacatur ground. The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed denial of the petition under CPLR 7511 and confirmation of the awards, in favor of the insurer. It stated that vacatur grounds are narrowly applied and that the master arbitrator's determinations had evidentiary support and a rational basis.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Matter of Singh v Allstate Ins. Co. (2016 NY Slip Op 01855)

Matter of Singh v Allstate Ins. Co.

2016 NY Slip Op 01855 [137 AD3d 1046]

March 16, 2016

Appellate Division, Second Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

As corrected through Wednesday, April 27, 2016

[*1]

In the Matter of Tara Singh, Appellant,
v
Allstate Insurance Company, Respondent.

Law Offices of Hersh Jakubowitz, PLLC, Flushing, NY (David Jakubowitz of counsel), for appellant.

Peter C. Merani, P.C., New York, NY (Josh Youngman and Eric Wahrburg of counsel), for respondent.

In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR 7511 to vacate four master arbitration awards, all dated July 28, 2014, which affirmed four arbitration awards, all dated April 14, 2014, denying the petitioner’s no-fault claims for lost wages incurred as a result of an automobile accident, the petitioner appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Woodard, J.), entered December 15, 2014, which denied her petition to vacate the four master arbitration awards and confirmed the four master arbitration awards.

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

“ ’Consistent with the public policy in favor of arbitration, the grounds specified in CPLR 7511 for vacating or modifying a no-fault arbitration award are few in number and narrowly applied’ ” (Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v Westchester Med. Group, M.D., 125 AD3d 649, 650 [2015], quoting Matter of Mercury Cas. Co. v Healthmakers Med. Group, P.C., 67 AD3d 1017, 1017 [2009]). Here, the petitioner failed to demonstrate any ground for vacating the subject master arbitration awards. In addition, the determinations of the master arbitrator confirming the original arbitration awards had evidentiary support and a rational basis (see Matter of Smith [Firemen’s Ins. Co.], 55 NY2d 224, 231-232 [1982]; Matter of Petrofsky [Allstate Ins. Co.], 54 NY2d 207, 211 [1981]). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly denied the petition and confirmed the master arbitration awards. Rivera, J.P., Austin, Sgroi and Barros, JJ., concur.

Legal questions

A question of no-fault law this decision rules on, from our Legal Questions pages. Bars count the decisions on the question by year and court, coloured by category; circles are this decision and the decisions on the question it cites or that cite it. Point at a bar or circle for details. The categories and summaries are Beynenson Law’s classification, made by a language model and checked by a second reading.

Court review of arbitration awards

Open the full map

When does a court vacate, modify or confirm a no-fault arbitrator’s or master arbitrator’s award under CPLR article 75?

This decision: No ground for vacatur or modification shown: the award is confirmed or left in place

Held the claimant showed no ground to vacate the master arbitration awards denying her lost-wage claims, which had evidentiary support and a rational basis, so the petition was properly denied and the awards confirmed.

Award standsVacated: irrational/arbitraryVacated: exceeded powerVacated: master oversteppedThis decisionCites it or cited by itCited or followedDistinguished or limited

Of the 119 decisions on this question in the Second Department courts and the Court of Appeals, 92 (this one included) are in the same category.

Cited in this decision

Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v Westchester Med. Group, M.D. (2015 NY Slip Op 00876)The insurer failed to establish a statutory ground to vacate a master arbitrator's award confirming payment of no-fault benefits.
Matter of Mercury Cas. Co. v Healthmakers Med. Group, P.C. (2009 NY Slip Op 08826)A court denying vacatur or modification of a no-fault arbitration award must confirm the award under CPLR 7511 (e).

Cited by

A label shows how the later decision treated this one.

Matter of Acuhealth Acupuncture, P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 02785) Contrasted (cf., but see)An insurer's fraudulent incorporation defense is not precluded by failure to raise it in a timely denial.
Matter of Acuhealth Acupuncture, P.C. v New York City Tr. Auth. (2018 NY Slip Op 08641)The master arbitrator's confirmation of an award denying benefits for exhausted policy limits had evidentiary support and a rational basis.
Matter of American Tr. Ins. Co. v Atlantic Med. Care, P.C. (2025 NY Slip Op 07297)A master arbitrator's legal error does not warrant vacatur unless the determination is irrational.
ENS Med., P.C. v Nationwide Ins. Co. (2026 NY Slip Op 26033)A provider may arbitrate a claim for lost earnings incurred in attending an insurer-demanded EUO. Insurance Law § 5106 (b) encompasses reimbursement disputes arising from claim verification, and 11 NYCRR 65-3.5 (e) requires reimbursement.
Matter of Fill Rx NY, Inc. v LM Gen. Ins. Co. (2025 NY Slip Op 04785)The provider's petition to vacate a master arbitration award upholding the insurer's policy-exhaustion defense was denied.

Similar decisions

Allstate Ins. Co. v Longevity Med. Supply, Inc. (2018 NY Slip Op 50238(U))A master arbitrator may apply law to established facts and correct legal error even when reaching a conclusion different from the arbitrator's. The insurer sought vacatur under CPLR 7511 of an award of unpaid no-fault benefits and attorney fees.
Matter of Travelers Indem. Co. v United Diagnostic Imaging, P.C. (2010 NY Slip Op 01658)The insurer failed to establish grounds to vacate a master arbitration award that had evidentiary support and a rational basis.
S.P. Med. Ctr. v Allstate Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 51978(U))An award must be confirmed under CPLR 7511 (e) when a petition to vacate it is denied.
Allstate Ins. Co. v Gandron (2019 NY Slip Op 50562(U))The master arbitrator's response to an apparently unsolicited claimant communication did not warrant vacatur for misconduct.
L.I. Community Med., P.C. v Allstate Ins. Co. (2008 NY Slip Op 51034(U))A master arbitrator's award had a rational basis where the provider's assignment named a different entity and did not establish standing.