October 25, 2019

SAS Med., P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2019 NY Slip Op 51759(U))

Headnote

The court considered an appeal from an order of the Civil Court which denied the defendant's motion seeking summary judgment dismissing so much of the complaint as sought to recover for services rendered to assignors Paola Dossa and Omar Morrison. The main issue decided was whether the action was premature because the plaintiff had failed to provide requested verification of the services rendered. The court held that the defendant had demonstrated that it had timely mailed initial and follow-up requests for verification and had not received the requested verification, thus showing that the complaint seeking to recover for services rendered to Paola Dossa and Omar Morrison was premature. As the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition to the defendant's motion, the branches of the defendant's motion seeking summary judgment were granted.

Reported in New York Official Reports at SAS Med., P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2019 NY Slip Op 51759(U))

SAS Med., P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co. (2019 NY Slip Op 51759(U)) [*1]

SAS Med., P.C. v Travelers Ins. Co.

2019 NY Slip Op 51759(U) [65 Misc 3d 145(A)]

Decided on October 25, 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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 October 25, 2019

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

PRESENT: : MICHAEL L. PESCE, P.J., THOMAS P. ALIOTTA, BERNICE D. SIEGAL, JJ
2018-1135 K C

SAS Medical, P.C., as Assignee of Paola Dossa, Omar Morrison and Sebastian Piemonte, Respondent,
against
Travelers Ins. Co., Appellant.

Law Offices of Aloy O. Ibuzor (Erika E.E. Treco of counsel), for appellant. Zara Javakov, P.C. (Zara Javakov of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Odessa Kennedy, J.), entered January 9, 2018. The order, insofar as appealed from, denied the branches of defendant’s motion seeking summary judgment dismissing so much of the complaint as sought to recover for services rendered to assignors Paola Dossa and Omar Morrison.

ORDERED that the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed, with $30 costs, and the branches of defendant’s motion seeking summary judgment dismissing so much of the complaint as sought to recover for services rendered to assignors Paola Dossa and Omar Morrison are granted.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, defendant appeals from so much of an order of the Civil Court as denied the branches of defendant’s motion seeking summary judgment dismissing so much of the complaint as sought to recover for services rendered to assignors Paola Dossa and Omar Morrison on the ground that the action was premature because plaintiff had failed to provide requested verification.

Defendant demonstrated that it had timely mailed initial and follow-up requests for verification (see St. Vincent’s Hosp. of Richmond v Government Empls. Ins. Co., 50 AD3d 1123 [2008]) and that it had not received the requested verification. Thus, defendant demonstrated, prima facie, that the complaint insofar as it sought to recover for services rendered to Paola [*2]Dossa and Omar Morrison is premature (see Central Suffolk Hosp. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 24 AD3d 492, 493 [2005]). As plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition to the branches of defendant’s motion at issue, those branches of defendant’s motion should have been granted.

Accordingly, the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed, and the branches of defendant’s motion seeking summary judgment dismissing so much of the complaint as sought to recover for services rendered to assignors Paola Dossa and Omar Morrison are granted.

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

ENTER:
Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: October 25, 2019