No-Fault Case Law
Acupuncture Now, P.C. v GEICO Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51647(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered the issue of whether a provider could recover first-party no-fault benefits for services billed under specific CPT codes. The defendant appealed the denial of its cross motion seeking summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's claims for services billed under CPT codes 97810 and 97811, arguing that the amounts sought to be recovered were in excess of the workers' compensation fee schedule. The court ultimately reversed the order and granted the defendant's cross motion, holding that the plaintiff was not entitled to recover upon claims for services billed under the specified CPT codes. The decision referenced a similar case, Acupuncture Now, P.C., as Assignee of Carlos, Illingworth v GEICO Ins. Co., and based its holding on the reasons stated in that case.
Maiga Prods. Corp. v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51646(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered the fact that the defendant had appealed from an order of the Civil Court which denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment. The main issue decided in this case was whether the plaintiff had failed to appear for scheduled examinations under oath (EUOs). The court held that the defendant had established that the plaintiff had failed to appear for scheduled EUOs, and as the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact in opposition to the defendant's motion, the defendant was entitled to summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Therefore, the court reversed the order and granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Acupuncture Now, P.C. v GEICO Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51645(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered an appeal from a provider seeking to recover first-party no-fault benefits assigned to them, in which the defendant insurance company sought summary judgment to dismiss claims for services billed under specific CPT codes. The main issue decided was whether the amounts sought to be recovered for services rendered prior to April 1, 2013, were in excess of the workers' compensation fee schedule. The holding of the court was that the branches of the defendant's cross-motion seeking summary judgment to dismiss the claims for services billed under the specific CPT codes were granted, reversing the order of the Civil Court. Therefore, the defendant insurance company was successful in their appeal and were not required to pay for the services billed under those specific CPT codes.
Island Life Chiropractic, P.C. v Erie Ins. Co. of N.Y. (2018 NY Slip Op 51644(U))
November 16, 2018
The case involved Island Life Chiropractic, P.C. seeking to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits from Erie Insurance Company of New York. The insurance company had denied the claim due to the provider's failure to submit the claim within 45 days of the services being rendered. The Civil Court denied the insurance company's motion for summary judgment, finding that the sole issue for trial was whether the claim had been timely submitted. The insurance company appealed, arguing that the provider had failed to comply with the regulation requiring submission of claims within 45 days. The appellate court affirmed the lower court's decision, finding that the affidavit of the provider's owner was sufficient to demonstrate a triable issue of fact regarding the timeliness of the claim submission. Therefore, the insurance company did not establish, as a matter of law, that the provider had failed to comply with the regulation, and the lower court's decision was affirmed.
Acupuncture Now, P.C. v GEICO Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51643(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered an appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County, which denied the branches of defendant's cross motion seeking summary judgment dismissing claims for services billed under CPT codes 97810 and 97811. The main issue decided was whether the amounts plaintiff sought to recover, for services rendered prior to April 1, 2013, were in excess of the workers' compensation fee schedule. The court held that the proof submitted by the defendant in support of its cross motion was sufficient to give rise to a presumption that the denial of claim forms at issue had been timely mailed and that the defendant had fully paid the plaintiff for the services billed under CPT codes 97810 and 97811 in accordance with the workers' compensation fee schedule for acupuncture services performed by chiropractors. Therefore, the court reversed the order and granted the branches of the defendant's cross motion seeking summary judgment dismissing claims for services billed under CPT codes 97810 and 97811.
Right Aid Med. Supply Corp. v Hereford Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51641(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered the fact that Right Aid Medical Supply Corp., as Assignee of Mery M. Quezada, was seeking to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits from Hereford Insurance Co. The main issue was whether the action was premature because plaintiff had failed to provide requested verification. Defendant argued that the action was premature because the requested verification had not been received, but plaintiff's affidavit was deemed sufficient to give rise to a presumption that the verification had been mailed to and received by the defendant. As a triable issue of fact existed as to whether the action was premature, the Civil Court denied defendant's motion for summary judgment, and the order was affirmed. Therefore, the holding of the case was that the denial of the defendant's motion for summary judgment was proper due to the existence of a triable issue of fact.
SAMA Physical Therapy, P.C. v Tri State Consumers Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51635(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered the facts of a provider seeking to recover first-party no-fault benefits, where the plaintiff's assignor had failed to appear for scheduled independent medical examinations (IMEs). The main issue decided was whether defendant's proof sufficiently established the proper mailing of the IME scheduling letters and that the plaintiff's assignor had failed to appear for the scheduled IMEs. The court held that contrary to plaintiff's arguments, defendant's proof did establish proper mailing and the assignor's failure to appear for the IMEs, leading to the denial of plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and the granting of defendant's cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Pavlova v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51634(U))
November 16, 2018
The main issue in this case was whether the plaintiff had failed to appear for duly scheduled examinations under oath, which would result in the dismissal of the complaint. The court considered the fact that the plaintiff was seeking to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits and had failed to appear for the scheduled examinations. The court ultimately held that the order granting the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint was affirmed, with the plaintiff being required to pay $25 in costs. The court's decision was based on the plaintiff's failure to comply with the requirement to appear for the examinations under oath, as stated in an earlier case, Pavlova, as Assignee of Scurry, Kevin v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. The appellate court judges unanimously concurred with the decision.
Pavlova v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51633(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered a provider's attempt to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits from an automobile insurance company. The main issue decided in this case was whether the plaintiff failed to appear for duly scheduled examinations under oath, which resulted in the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint being granted by the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County. The holding of this case was that the order granting the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint was affirmed, with $25 costs. This decision was based on the plaintiff's failure to appear for examinations under oath, as discussed in a related case, Pavlova, as Assignee of Scurry, Kevin v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
Pavlova v State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (2018 NY Slip Op 51632(U))
November 16, 2018
The court considered the fact that the plaintiff, a provider seeking first-party no-fault benefits, failed to appear for scheduled examinations under oath (EUOs) as requested by the defendant, an insurance company. The main issue was whether the defendant had provided sufficient proof that the plaintiff had failed to appear for the EUOs, and whether the defendant was required to provide objective reasons for requesting the EUOs in order to establish entitlement to summary judgment. The court held that the proof submitted by the defendant was sufficient to demonstrate that the plaintiff had failed to appear for the EUOs, and that the defendant was not required to set forth objective reasons for requesting the EUOs in order to establish entitlement to summary judgment. Therefore, the court affirmed the order of the Civil Court granting the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.