December 22, 2014

Healthway Med. Care, P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 51870(U))

Headnote

The court considered the motions for summary judgment in an action by a medical provider to recover no-fault benefits. The main issue was whether the plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment and whether the defendant had met the burden of demonstrating timely and valid cancellation of the insurance policy. The court held that the plaintiff was not entitled to summary judgment as it failed to demonstrate that the defendant had failed to timely deny the claims or that the denial of claim forms were conclusory, vague, or without merit as a matter of law. The burden then shifted to the defendant to demonstrate the timely and valid cancellation of the insurance policy based on nonpayment of the premium, which the defendant was able to do. Since the plaintiff did not submit any opposition to the defendant's cross motion, no triable issue of fact was raised as to the validity of the cancellation of the policy, and the order was affirmed.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Healthway Med. Care, P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 51870(U))

Healthway Med. Care, P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 51870(U)) [*1]

Healthway Med. Care, P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co.

2014 NY Slip Op 51870(U) [46 Misc 3d 135(A)]

Decided on December 22, 2014

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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 December 22, 2014

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

PRESENT: : PESCE, P.J., ALIOTTA and SOLOMON, JJ.
2013-893 Q C

Healthway Medical Care, P.C. as Assignee of CONSTANCE CRAIG, Appellant,
against
Travelers Insurance Company, Respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Richard G. Latin, J.), entered April 5, 2013. The order denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and granted defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with $25 costs.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, plaintiff moved for summary judgment, and defendant cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Plaintiff appeals from an order of the Civil Court which denied plaintiff’s motion and granted defendant’s cross motion. Plaintiff was not entitled to summary judgment, since it failed to demonstrate, prima facie, either that defendant had failed to timely deny the claims or that the denial of claim forms were conclusory, vague or without merit as a matter of law (see Insurance Law § 5102 [a]; 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, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2011]).

On its cross motion for summary judgment, the burden was on defendant to demonstrate the timely and valid cancellation of the insurance policy at issue based on nonpayment of the premium. The papers submitted by defendant in support of its cross motion were sufficient to make a prima facie showing that defendant met its initial burden in compliance with Vehicle and Traffic Law § 313 (see Matter of Auto One Ins. Co. v Forrester, 78 AD3d 1174 [2010]; GEICO Indem. v Roth, 56 AD3d 1244 [2008]; Queens Med. Supply, Inc. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 35 Misc 3d 146[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 51060[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2012]). The burden then shifted to plaintiff, as the party claiming coverage, to establish defendant’s noncompliance with the statutory requirements as to form and procedure. Inasmuch as plaintiff submitted no opposition to defendant’s cross motion, plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact (see Flagstar Bank v Bellafiore, 94 AD3d 1044 [2012]) as to the validity of the cancellation of the policy.

Accordingly, the order is affirmed.

Pesce, P.J., Aliotta and Solomon, JJ., concur.

Decision Date: December 22, 2014