December 22, 2017

MT Servs. P.T., P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 51851(U))

Headnote

The court considered the fact that the plaintiff, MT Services P.T., P.C., was seeking to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits and had moved for summary judgment, while the defendant, Country-Wide Ins. Co., had cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The main issue decided was whether the defendant had timely mailed initial and follow-up requests for written verification, and whether the plaintiff had provided the requested verification to the defendant prior to the commencement of the action. The holding of the case was that the defendant had indeed established that it had timely mailed initial and follow-up requests for written verification, and as the plaintiff did not show that the verification had been provided to the defendant prior to the commencement of the action, the 30-day period within which the defendant was required to pay or deny the claims did not begin to run. Therefore, the order denying the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and granting the defendant's cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint was affirmed.

Reported in New York Official Reports at MT Servs. P.T., P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 51851(U))

MT Servs. P.T., P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co. (2017 NY Slip Op 51851(U)) [*1]

MT Servs. P.T., P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co.

2017 NY Slip Op 51851(U) [58 Misc 3d 139(A)]

Decided on December 22, 2017

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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.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 22, 2017
SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, SECOND DEPARTMENT, 2d, 11th and 13th JUDICIAL DISTRICTS
PRESENT: : MICHAEL L. PESCE, P.J., THOMAS P. ALIOTTA, MARTIN M. SOLOMON, JJ
2015-155 Q C

MT Services P.T., P.C., as Assignee of Richardson Steven, Appellant,
against
Country-Wide Ins. Co., Respondent.

Petre and Zabokritsky, P.C., (Zachary Rozenberg, Esq.), for appellant. Jaffe & Koumourdas, LLP (Jean H. Kang, Esq.), for respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Richard G. Latin, J.), entered December 3, 2014. The order denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and granted defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order 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. By order entered December 3, 2014, the Civil Court denied plaintiff’s motion and granted defendant’s cross motion.

Contrary to plaintiff’s contention, defendant established that it had timely mailed initial and follow-up requests for written verification (see 11 NYCRR 65-3.5 [b]; 65-3.8 [l]; St. Vincent’s Hosp. of Richmond v Government Empls. Ins. Co., 50 AD3d 1123 [2008]). As defendant demonstrated that it had not received the requested verification, and plaintiff did not show that the verification had been provided to defendant prior to the commencement of the action, the 30-day period within which defendant was required to pay or deny the claims did not begin to run (see 11 NYCRR 65-3.5 [c]; 65-3.8 [a]; Central Suffolk Hosp. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 24 AD3d 492 [2005]). As plaintiff’s remaining contentions regarding the [*2]verification requested by defendant lack merit, the order is affirmed.

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

ENTER:
Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: December 22, 2017