December 23, 2011

Jae Ook Park v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2011 NY Slip Op 52379(U))

Headnote

The main issue in the case was whether the plaintiff, as the assignee of HAO CHENG PIAO, was entitled to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits from the defendant, GEICO General Insurance Company. The court considered whether the bill in question was timely denied, or that the denial was conclusory, vague, or without merit as a matter of law. The court held that because the plaintiff failed to establish that the bill in question was not timely denied, or that the denial was conclusory, vague, or without merit as a matter of law, the plaintiff failed to establish its prima facie case. Therefore, the court affirmed the order that denied the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment without costs. The court also declined the defendant's request to search the record and award it summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Jae Ook Park v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2011 NY Slip Op 52379(U))

Jae Ook Park v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2011 NY Slip Op 52379(U)) [*1]

Jae Ook Park v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co.

2011 NY Slip Op 52379(U) [34 Misc 3d 134(A)]

Decided on December 23, 2011

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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 23, 2011

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

APPELLATE TERM: 2nd, 11th and 13th JUDICIAL DISTRICTS

PRESENT: : PESCE, P.J., GOLIA and STEINHARDT, JJ
2010-2299 K C.

Jae Ook Park, M.D. as Assignee of HAO CHENG PIAO, Appellant,
against
GEICO General Insurance Company, Respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Wavny Toussaint, J.), entered October 30, 2009. The order, insofar as appealed from, denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.

ORDERED that the order, insofar as appealed from, is affirmed, without costs.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, plaintiff appeals from so much of an order as denied its motion for summary judgment. Because plaintiff failed to establish that the bill in question was not timely denied, or that the denial was conclusory, vague, or without merit as a matter of law, plaintiff failed to establish its prima facie case (Westchester Med. Ctr. v Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 78 AD3d 1168 [2010]; Quality Health Prods. v Country-Wide Ins. Co., 30 Misc 3d 143[A], 2011 NY Slip Op 50328[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2011]; see also Nyack Hosp. v Allstate Ins. Co., 84 AD3d 1331 [2011]; Viviane Etienne Med. Care, P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co., 31 Misc 3d 21 [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2011]).
Accordingly, the order, insofar as appealed from, is affirmed.

We decline defendant’s request to search the record and award it summary judgment [*2]dismissing the complaint.

Pesce, P.J., Golia and Steinhardt, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: December 23, 2011