April 24, 2009

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v New York City Tr. Auth. (2009 NY Slip Op 50806(U))

https://www.beynensonlaw.com/case-law/state-farm-mut-auto-ins-co-v-new-york-city-tr-auth-2009-ny-slip-op50806u/

Court: Appellate Term, Second Department
Decided: April 24, 2009
Citation: 2009 NY Slip Op 50806(U) · 23 Misc 3d 135(A)
Posture: Article 75 petition
Issues: CPLR article 75 (arbitration awards)

Cite as

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v New York City Tr. Auth., 23 Misc 3d 135(A), 2009 NY Slip Op 50806(U) (App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2009)

Posture, outcome, issues and treatment by other decisions are Beynenson Law’s classification. Treatment labels are assigned by a language model reading the citing decision; negative and appeal-history labels are checked by a second reader.

Summary

Editorial summary by Beynenson Law, not part of the court’s decision.

An arbitration award must be confirmed under CPLR 7511 (e) when the court denies a petition to vacate it. The petitioning no-fault insurer sought reimbursement from the Transit Authority through compulsory arbitration under Insurance Law § 5105 and 11 NYCRR 65-4.10. The arbitrator dismissed both claims, and the Civil Court denied vacatur. The Appellate Term, Second Department, found that the arbitrator's determination was supported by a reasonable hypothesis and was not arbitrary and capricious. It modified the order to add confirmation of the awards and otherwise affirmed, leaving the awards in favor of the Transit Authority intact.

Reported in New York Official Reports at State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v New York City Tr. Auth. (2009 NY Slip Op 50806(U))

[*1]

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v New York City Tr. Auth.

2009 NY Slip Op 50806(U) [23 Misc 3d 135(A)]

Decided on April 24, 2009

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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 April 24, 2009

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

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

PRESENT: : WESTON PATTERSON, J.P., GOLIA and RIOS, JJ
2008-262 Q C.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company a/s/o MARK WATSON and ULLANAIE WOODS, Appellant,
against
New York City Transit Authority, Respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Lee A. Mayersohn, J.), entered October 24, 2007. The order denied the petition of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company to vacate the arbitrator’s awards in favor of the New York City Transit Authority dismissing the claims.

Order modified by adding thereto a provision confirming the arbitrator’s awards; as so modified, affirmed without costs.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm) commenced compulsory arbitration proceedings against the New York City Transit Authority (Transit Authority), pursuant to Insurance Department Regulations (11 NYCRR) § 65-4.10 (see Insurance Law § 5105), seeking reimbursement for no-fault benefits paid on behalf of its subrogors. After the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator issued two awards in favor of the Transit Authority dismissing State Farm’s claims. State Farm thereafter commenced this special proceeding to vacate the arbitrator’s awards. The Civil Court denied the petition. The instant appeal by State Farm ensued.

Upon a review of the record, we find that the determination of the arbitrator, which denied State Farm’s claims for assigned first-party no-fault benefits, was supported by a reasonable hypothesis and was not arbitrary and capricious (see e.g. Matter of Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 NY2d 214, 224 [1996]; Matter of State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., 18 AD3d 762, 763 [2005]). Accordingly, the Civil Court properly denied the petition to vacate the arbitrator’s awards. However, upon denying the petition, the court was required, pursuant to CPLR 7511 (e), to confirm the awards (see Matter of [*2]Exclusive Med. & Diagnostic v Government Empls. Ins. Co., 306 AD2d 476 [2003]).

Weston Patterson, J.P., Golia and Rios, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: April 24, 2009

Cited in this decision

Matter of State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. (2005 NY Slip Op 04234)An interinsurer priority-of-payment award survived vacatur because it had a reasonable basis in the failure to prove another driver's negligence.

Similar decisions

Matter of State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Mutual Serv. Cas. Ins. Co. (2004 NY Slip Op 51293(U))The petitioning insurer's reimbursement demand was timely because it was made within three years of its first no-fault payment.
Matter of American Tr. Ins. Co. v Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. (2008 NY Slip Op 50295(U))An insurer may raise grounds for vacatur in opposition to confirmation even after CPLR 7511's 90-day period has expired.
Matter of State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2003 NY Slip Op 51693(U))The petitioning insurer's application to vacate no-fault and uninsured motorist arbitration awards was denied.
AIU Ins. Co. v State Farm Ins. Co. (2010 NY Slip Op 51064(U))The compulsory intercompany arbitration awards were supported by the evidence and were not arbitrary and capricious.
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Hereford Ins. Co. (2020 NY Slip Op 51304(U))An intercompany reimbursement arbitration cannot relate back to a lawsuit against a different party to toll the limitations period.