No-Fault Case Law
City Wide Social Work & Psychological Servs., PLLC v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50603(U))
March 26, 2007
The court considered whether the provider had established a prima facie case to recover first-party no-fault benefits from the insurance company. The main issue was whether the affidavits and documents submitted by the plaintiff's employee were sufficient to establish the plaintiff's business records. The court held that the affidavits were insufficient to establish that the employee possessed personal knowledge of the plaintiff's business practices and procedures, and therefore, failed to make a prima facie showing of its entitlement to summary judgment. As a result, the court affirmed the denial of plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.
Dan Med., P.C. v New York Cent. Mut. Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50602(U))
March 26, 2007
The court considered the fact that the plaintiff commenced an action to recover first-party no-fault benefits for health care services rendered to its assignor, and the defendant moved to compel disclosure. The main issue decided was that the affidavit submitted by the plaintiff's corporate officer failed to lay a proper foundation for the documents annexed to the plaintiff's moving papers, and as a result, the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case. The holding was that plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment was properly denied, and the branch of the order which granted the defendant's motion to the extent of requiring the plaintiff to appear by a treating physician for an examination before trial was entered on default. The appeal from so much of the order as granted the defendant's motion to compel disclosure was dismissed.
Bajaj v State-Wide Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50570(U))
March 23, 2007
The plaintiff in this case, Dr. Deepika Bajaj, sought to recover no-fault first party benefits in the sum of $2,625.23 for medical services provided to his assignor. After participating in a mandatory arbitration, the parties resulted in an award in the plaintiff's favor against the defendant in the sum of $3,150.23, inclusive of attorney's fees. After the defendant attempted to file a demand for trial de novo which was rejected by the clerk, the defendant moved for an order compelling the acceptance of its demand and staying all efforts to enforce the judgment. The defendant argued that the arbitration rules are unconstitutional and in direct conflict with the Civil Practice Law and Rules. The court held that the defendant's demand for a trial de novo was timely and should have been accepted by the clerk, granting the defendant's motion.
Great Wall Acupuncture v American Tr. Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50538(U))
March 19, 2007
The court considered the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in a case seeking to recover first-party no-fault benefits. The plaintiff's motion was supported by an affidavit from the plaintiff's employee and various documents, which the employee claimed were the plaintiff's business records. However, the court denied the motion on the grounds that the affidavit was legally insufficient to establish the employee's personal knowledge of the plaintiff's practices and procedures, which was necessary to admit the documents as business records. The main issue decided by the court was whether the plaintiff had made a prima facie showing of its entitlement to summary judgment, which it had not. Therefore, the court affirmed the order denying the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, as the plaintiff had failed to establish its case.
Capri Med., P.C. v New York Cent. Mut. Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50536(U))
March 19, 2007
The main issue in this case was whether the plaintiff was entitled to first-party no-fault benefits for medical services rendered to its assignor. The court considered the fact that the affidavit by the plaintiff's corporate officer failed to lay a proper foundation for the documents annexed to the plaintiff's moving papers, which resulted in the plaintiff failing to establish a prima facie case. As a result, the court denied the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. The holding of the court was that the plaintiff failed to make a prima facie showing that it submitted its claim forms to the defendant, and therefore, the motion for summary judgment was properly denied. The court did not address any other issues in the case.
New Way Med., P.C. v Kemper Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50535(U))
March 19, 2007
The court considered the facts of an action to recover first-party no-fault benefits for services rendered to the plaintiff's assignor. The plaintiff had moved for summary judgment, but the defendant opposed the motion. The lower court denied the plaintiff's motion, leading to the appeal. The main issue decided was whether the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment was properly denied, and the court found that it was, as the defendant raised a triable issue. The holding of the case was that, under the circumstances presented, the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment was properly denied, and the lower court's order was affirmed.
Elmont Open MRI & Diagnostic Radiology, P.C. v State Farm Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50988(U))
March 16, 2007
The court considered the case of a provider seeking to recover first-party no-fault benefits for an MRI provided to its assignor. The provider filed a motion for summary judgment, which was denied by the court due to a peer review report created by the defendant that raised a triable issue of the MRI's medical necessity. The defendant had informed the provider that the processing of the claim would be delayed until confirmation of medical necessity was received, and after receiving the verification, the denial was issued based on the peer review report. The main issue decided was the defendant's failure to seek verification directly from the plaintiff, as required by regulations. The court upheld the denial of the provider's motion for summary judgment and affirmed the lower court's decision, stating that the argument was rejected for the same reasons provided in another similar case.
Doshi Diagnostic Imaging Servs. v State Farm Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 27193)
March 16, 2007
The relevant facts the court considered were that a provider sued for non-payment of no-fault benefits and the defendant sent a letter to the prescribing physician requesting verification of the medical necessity of the MRI. The plaintiff contended that the request should have been made directly to them. The main issue decided by the court was whether the insurance regulations were violated when the insurance company sent the letter to the prescribing physician instead of directly to the plaintiff. The holding of the case was that the letters sent by the insurance company sufficed to toll the statutory claim determination period, and that the request for verification could be made to parties other than the applicant if the insurance company informed the applicant of the nature of the verification sought.
Vista Surgical Supplies, Inc. v Allstate Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50502(U))
March 15, 2007
The court considered the sufficiency of the evidence submitted in support of the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in a case involving a provider seeking to recover first-party no-fault benefits. The main issue decided was whether the affidavit by plaintiff's corporate officer laid a proper foundation for the admission of the documents annexed to the plaintiff's motion papers as business records. The court held that the affidavit submitted by plaintiff's corporate officer was insufficient to establish the officer's personal knowledge of plaintiff's practices and procedures, and as a result, plaintiff failed to make a prima facie showing of its entitlement to summary judgment. Therefore, the court affirmed the denial of the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.
Metroscan Med. Diagnostics, P.C. v Progressive Cas. Ins. Co. (2007 NY Slip Op 50500(U))
March 15, 2007
The relevant facts considered in the case were that a medical provider, Metroscan Medical Diagnostics, P.C., filed a complaint to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits from Progressive Casualty Insurance Company. Progressive moved for summary judgment, arguing that the action was premature due to the plaintiff's failure to adequately respond to initial and follow-up verification requests. The main issue decided was whether the verification requests sent by the defendant were specific enough and whether the plaintiff's failure to provide a completed assignment of benefits form allowed the defendant's time to pay or deny the claim to be tolled. The holding of the case was that the lower court's decision to grant the defendant's motion for summary judgment was affirmed, as the plaintiff failed to provide a completed assignment of benefits form, which in turn tolled the 30-day statutory period for the defendant to pay or deny the claim. Therefore, the defendant had established that payment of no-fault benefits was not overdue, and the action was premature.