March 13, 2020

V.S. Med. Servs., P.C. v State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. (2020 NY Slip Op 50405(U))

Headnote

The court considered an appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County, in which the order granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground of laches. The main issue decided was whether the delay in prosecuting the action by the plaintiff, a provider seeking to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, warranted the dismissal of the complaint on the ground of laches. The holding of the court was that the order was reversed, the branch of defendant's motion seeking to dismiss the complaint on the ground of laches was denied, and the matter was remitted to the Civil Court for a determination of the remaining branches of defendant's motion. The court's decision was based on the reasons stated in a similar case, Rockaway Med. & Diagnostic, P.C., as Assignee of Ramon Ortiz v State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., and the justices all concurred with the decision.

Reported in New York Official Reports at V.S. Med. Servs., P.C. v State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. (2020 NY Slip Op 50405(U))

V.S. Med. Servs., P.C. v State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. (2020 NY Slip Op 50405(U)) [*1]

V.S. Med. Servs., P.C. v State Farm Mut. Ins. Co.

2020 NY Slip Op 50405(U) [67 Misc 3d 129(A)]

Decided on March 13, 2020

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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 March 13, 2020

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

PRESENT: : MICHELLE WESTON, J.P., DAVID ELLIOT, BERNICE D. SIEGAL, JJ
2018-1946 Q C

V.S. Medical Services, P.C., as Assignee of Cesar Rodriquez, Appellant,
against
State Farm Mutual Insurance Co., Respondent.

Law Office of David O’Connor, LLC (David O’Connor of counsel), for appellant. Rivkin Radler, LLP (Stuart M. Bodoff and J’naia Boyd of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Phillip Hom, J.), entered June 4, 2018. The order granted the branch of defendant’s motion seeking to dismiss the complaint on the ground of laches.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, without costs, the branch of defendant’s motion seeking to dismiss the complaint on the ground of laches is denied, and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for a determination of the remaining branches of defendant’s motion.

Insofar as is relevant to this appeal in this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, defendant moved to, among other things, dismiss the complaint on the ground of laches, based on plaintiff’s delay in prosecuting the action. The Civil Court granted this branch of defendant’s motion and found that the remaining branches of the motion were moot.

For the reasons stated in Rockaway Med. & Diagnostic, P.C., as Assignee of Ramon Ortiz v State Farm Mut. Ins. Co. (___ Misc 3d ___, 2020 NY Slip Op _____ [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2020]), the order is reversed, the branch of defendant’s motion seeking to dismiss the complaint on the ground of laches is denied, and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for a determination of the remaining branches of defendant’s motion.

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

ENTER:

Paul Kenny

Chief Clerk
Decision Date: March 13, 2020