December 17, 2014

Rainbow Supply of NY, Inc. v Geico Gen. Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 51827(U))

Headnote

The court considered a dispute between Rainbow Supply of NY, Inc. and Geico General Insurance Co. concerning the recovery of first-party no-fault benefits for medical supplies. Rainbow Supply moved for summary judgment, while Geico cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint based on a lack of medical necessity. The Civil Court denied Rainbow Supply's motion, made findings in their favor, denied Geico's cross-motion, and held that the only remaining issue for trial was medical necessity. The Appellate Term affirmed the Civil Court's decision, finding that there was a triable issue of fact regarding the medical necessity of the supplies at issue. Therefore, the order was affirmed with costs.

Reported in New York Official Reports at Rainbow Supply of NY, Inc. v Geico Gen. Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 51827(U))

Rainbow Supply of NY, Inc. v Geico Gen. Ins. Co. (2014 NY Slip Op 51827(U)) [*1]
Rainbow Supply of NY, Inc. v Geico Gen. Ins. Co.
2014 NY Slip Op 51827(U) [46 Misc 3d 131(A)]
Decided on December 17, 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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 17, 2014

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


PRESENT: : PESCE, P.J., ALIOTTA and SOLOMON, JJ.
2012-1973 K C
Rainbow Supply of NY, Inc. as Assignee of JOHN PERRY, Respondent,

against

Geico General Ins. Co., Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Wavny Toussaint, J.), entered March 16, 2012. The order, insofar as appealed from, upon denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, made, in effect, CPLR 3212 (g) findings in plaintiff’s favor, and denied defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

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 moved for summary judgment, and defendant cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that it had timely and properly denied the claims at issue based on a lack of medical necessity. Insofar as is relevant to this appeal, the Civil Court, upon denying plaintiff’s motion, made, in effect, CPLR 3212 (g) findings in plaintiff’s favor, denied defendant’s cross motion, and held that the only remaining issue for trial was medical necessity.

We find that defendant has failed to articulate a sufficient basis to strike the Civil Court’s implicit CPLR 3212 (g) findings in plaintiff’s favor (see EMC Health Prods., Inc. v Geico Ins. Co., 43 Misc 3d 139[A], 2014 NY Slip Op 50786[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2014]). Moreover, upon a review of the record, we find that there is a triable issue of fact regarding the medical necessity of the supplies at issue (see Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557 [1980]).

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

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


Decision Date: December 17, 2014