July 12, 2019

Kanter Physical Medicine & Rehab, P.C., GEICO Ins. Co. (2019 NY Slip Op 51175(U))

Headnote

The court considered a proceeding brought by Kanter Physical Medicine & Rehab, P.C., as the assignee of an individual, to vacate a master arbitrator's award which upheld the award of an arbitrator, denying the petitioner's claims to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits. The main issue was whether there was a rational basis for the determination of the master arbitrator upholding the arbitrator's award. The holding of the case was that the court found a rational basis for the determination of the master arbitrator upholding the arbitrator's award, and therefore the Civil Court properly denied the petition to vacate the master arbitrator's award. The order was modified to add a provision confirming the master arbitrator's award, as a special proceeding should terminate in a judgment, not an order.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Kanter Physical Medicine & Rehab, P.C., GEICO Ins. Co. (2019 NY Slip Op 51175(U))

Kanter Physical Medicine & Rehab, P.C., GEICO Ins. Co. (2019 NY Slip Op 51175(U)) [*1]

Kanter Physical Medicine & Rehab, P.C. v GEICO Ins. Co.

2019 NY Slip Op 51175(U) [64 Misc 3d 138(A)]

Decided on July 12, 2019

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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 July 12, 2019

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

PRESENT: : DAVID ELLIOT, J.P., MICHAEL L. PESCE, BERNICE D. SIEGAL, JJ
2018-394 Q C

Kanter Physical Medicine and Rehab, P.C., as Assignee of Lisa Marie Pimental, Appellant,
against
GEICO Insurance Company, Respondent.

Law Offices of Jonathan B. Seplowe, P.C. (Alan M. Elis of counsel), for appellant. Law Office of Goldstein & Flecker (Lawrence J. Chanice of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Maureen A. Healy, J.), entered July 7, 2017. The order denied a petition to vacate a master arbitrator’s award dated October 16, 2016 in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 75.

ORDERED that the order is modified by adding thereto a provision confirming the master arbitrator’s award; as so modified, the order is affirmed, without costs.

Petitioner commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 75 to vacate a master arbitrator’s award dated October 16, 2016, which upheld the award of an arbitrator, rendered pursuant to Insurance Law § 5106 (b), denying petitioner’s claims to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits. The Civil Court denied the petition.

Upon a review of the record, we find a rational basis for the determination of the master arbitrator upholding the arbitrator’s award (see Matter of Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp. v Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 NY2d 214 [1996]; Matter of Petrofsky [Allstate Ins. Co.], 54 NY2d 207 [1981]). Consequently, the Civil Court properly denied the petition to vacate the master arbitrator’s award. However, upon denying the petition, the court was required, pursuant to CPLR 7511 (e), to confirm the award (see Matter of Exclusive Med. & Diagnostic v Government Empls. Ins. Co., 306 AD2d 476 [2003]).

We note that a special proceeding should terminate in a judgment, not an order (see CPLR 411).

Accordingly, the order is modified by adding thereto a provision confirming the master arbitrator’s award.

ELLIOT, J.P., PESCE and SIEGAL, JJ., concur.

ENTER:
Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: July 12, 2019