August 19, 2022

Island Life Chiropractic Pain Care, PLLC v American Ind. Ins. Co. (2022 NY Slip Op 50903(U))

Headnote

The court considered an appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County, which denied the branches of the defendants' joint motion seeking to dismiss part of the complaint against American Independent Ins. Co., American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc., and Good2Go Auto Insurance. The main issue decided was whether the branches of the motion to dismiss part of the complaint against these defendants should be granted. The court held that the branches of the motion seeking to dismiss so much of the complaint as was asserted against American Independent Ins. Co. and American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc., respectively, should be granted, and the order was affirmed with modifications. Therefore, the appeal was partly dismissed, and the decision from the lower court was modified to grant the dismissal of part of the complaint against the specified defendants.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Island Life Chiropractic Pain Care, PLLC v American Ind. Ins. Co. (2022 NY Slip Op 50903(U))

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

Island Life Chiropractic Pain Care, PLLC, as Assignee of Senat, Benita, Respondent,

against

American Independent Ins. Co., Omni Indemnity Company, American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc. and Good2Go Auto Insurance, Appellants.

Freiberg, Peck & Kang, LLP (Yilo J. Kang of counsel), for appellant. The Rybak Firm, PLLC (Damin J. Toell, Esq.), for respondent (no brief filed).

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Consuelo Mallafre Melendez, J.), entered October 31, 2019. The order, insofar as appealed from, denied the branches of defendants’ joint motion seeking to dismiss so much of the complaint as was asserted against American Independent Ins. Co., American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc., and Good2Go Auto Insurance, respectively.

ORDERED that so much of the appeal as is by Omni Indemnity Company is dismissed, as Omni Indemnity Company is not aggrieved by the order, insofar as appealed from (see CPLR 5511; Rinaldi v Evenflo Co., Inc., 62 AD3d 856 [2009]); and it is further,

ORDERED that the order, insofar as appealed from, is modified by providing that the branches of the motion seeking to dismiss so much of the complaint as was asserted against American Independent Ins. Co. and American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc., respectively, are granted; as so modified, the order, insofar as appealed from, is affirmed, without costs.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, defendants appeal from so much of an order as denied the branches of defendants’ joint motion seeking to dismiss so much of the complaint as was asserted against defendants American Independent Ins. [*2]Co., American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc., and Good2Go Auto Insurance, respectively.

For the reasons stated in Island Life Chiropractic Pain Care, PLLC, as Assignee of Vernizier, Jean Willy v American Ind. Ins. Co. (— Misc 3d —, 2022 NY Slip Op — [appeal No. 2020-251 K C], decided herewith), the order, insofar as appealed from, is modified by providing that the branches of the motion seeking to dismiss so much of the complaint as was asserted against American Independent Ins. Co. and American Independent Insurance Companies, Inc., respectively, are granted.

ALIOTTA, P.J., TOUSSAINT and GOLIA, JJ., concur.

ENTER:
Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: August 19, 2022