September 8, 2017

Fema Med. Supply, Inc. v American Commerce Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 51160(U))

Headnote

The court considered that in an action by a medical provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment was denied by the Civil Court. The main issue decided was whether the defendant had failed to deny the claims at issue within the required 30-day period, or whether the defendant had issued timely denials of claim that were conclusory, vague, or without merit as a matter of law. The court held that the plaintiff's motion was properly denied, as they did not demonstrate that the defendant had failed to deny the claims within the required time period or that the denials of claim were conclusory, vague, or without merit as a matter of law. Therefore, the court affirmed the order of the Civil Court.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Fema Med. Supply, Inc. v American Commerce Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 51160(U))

Fema Med. Supply, Inc. v American Commerce Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 51160(U)) [*1]

Fema Med. Supply, Inc. v American Commerce Ins. Co.

2017 NY Slip Op 51160(U) [57 Misc 3d 128(A)]

Decided on September 8, 2017

Appellate Term, Second Department

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

This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on September 8, 2017

SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, SECOND DEPARTMENT, 2d, 11th and 13th JUDICIAL DISTRICTS

PRESENT: : MICHAEL L. PESCE, P.J., THOMAS P. ALIOTTA, MARTIN M. SOLOMON, JJ
2014-2754 Q C

Fema Medical Supply, Inc., as Assignee of Luc Evens, Appellant,
against
American Commerce Insurance Company, Respondent.

Amos Weinberg, Esq., for appellant. Bruno, Gerbino & Soriano, LLP (Mitchell L. Kaufman, Esq.), for respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Ulysses Bernard Leverett, J.), entered October 31, 2014. The order, insofar as appealed from, denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.

ORDERED that the order, insofar as appealed from, is affirmed, with $25 costs.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, plaintiff appeals from so much of an order of the Civil Court as denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.

Plaintiff’s motion was properly denied, as plaintiff did not demonstrate either that defendant had failed to deny the claims at issue within the requisite 30-day period (see Viviane Etienne Med. Care, P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co., 25 NY3d 498 [2015]), or that defendant had issued timely denials of claim that were conclusory, vague or without merit as a matter of law (see Westchester Med. Ctr. v Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 78 AD3d 1168 [2010]; Ave T MPC Corp. v Auto One Ins. Co., 32 Misc 3d 128[A], 2011 NY Slip Op 51292[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2011]).

Accordingly, the order, insofar as appealed from, is affirmed.

PESCE, P.J., ALIOTTA and SOLOMON, JJ., concur.

Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: September 08, 2017