Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v City of New York 2024 NY Slip Op 33280(U) September 16, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 655388/2023 Judge: John J. Kelley Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 655388/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 8 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/16/2024
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. JOHN J. KELLEY PART 56M Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 655388/2023 In the Matter of MOTION DATE 07/12/2024 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 Petitioner,
-v- DECISION, ORDER, and CITY OF NEW YORK, JUDGMENT
Respondent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X
The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 were read on this motion to/for CONFIRM/DISAPPROVE AWARD/REPORT .
Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) petitions pursuant to CPLR 7510 to confirm an
arbitration award dated February 15, 2023, made by an arbitrator acting under the auspices of
Arbitration Forums, Inc. (AFI), and pursuant to CPLR 7514 to direct the entry of a money
judgment thereon. The respondent, City of New York, does not oppose the petition. The
petition is granted, the award rendered under AFI Docket No. I068-11153-22-00 is confirmed,
and Allstate is entitled to enter a money judgment against the City in the principal sum of
$10,271.84, plus statutory interest from February 15, 2023.
Allstate was the insurer of a motor vehicle owned by Alicia Jones and operated by
Simeon Smith. The City was the self-insurer and owner of a fire truck allocated for use by the
New York City Fire Department (FDNY). July 3, 2022, Smith was operating Jones’s vehicle
southbound on 224th Street in the Laurelton section of Queens County, and had a green light
as he approached that street’s intersection with Merrick Boulevard, when the operator of the
FDNY truck, who was travelling eastbound of Merrick Boulevard, failed to stop for a red light
controlling traffic in his direction, causing the FDNY truck and Jones’s vehicle to collide. Smith
655388/2023 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. CITY OF NEW YORK Page 1 of 4 Motion No. 001
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made claim upon Allstate, as the insurer of Jones’s vehicle, for the injuries that he sustained in
the accident. Allstate paid medical claims totaling $10,271.84 either to Smith or on his behalf.
Inasmuch as the City’s vehicle was a “motor vehicle weighing more than six thousand
five hundred pounds unloaded” (Insurance Law § 5105[a]) (id.), Allstate was entitled to seek a
personal injury protection (PIP) “loss transfer” from the City to reimburse it for the benefits that it
had paid out to and on behalf of Smith. To obtain this loss transfer, Allstate was required to
establish that the operator of the City truck was at fault in the happening of the accident in whole
or in part. Insurance Law § 5105(b) provides that, where an insurer seeks to recover first-party
benefits/PIP loss transfer from the “insurer of any other covered person” on the ground that the
other covered person was at fault in the happening of the accident, “[t]he sole remedy . . .shall
be the submission of the controversy to mandatory arbitration pursuant to procedures
promulgated or approved by the superintendent” of the New York State Department of Financial
Services. Pursuant to those regulations, AFI has been designated as the exclusive forum for
resolution of no-fault related, loss-transfer arbitration matters (see 11 NYCRR 65-4.11[b][1]).
On November 23, 2022, Allstate thus demanded inter-insurer arbitration with the City
before AFI. In the February 15, 2023 arbitration award, at which the City declined to appear, an
arbitrator acting under the auspices of AFI found Smith’s description of the accident to be
credible, found in favor of Allstate, and concluded that the operator of the FDNY truck was
100% at fault in the happening of the subject accident, inasmuch as he was negligent in failing
to comply with a traffic control device, thus causing the collision. She further determined that
the amount of medical benefits that Allstate paid to Smith or on Smith’s behalf had been proven
and, thus, concluded that the City was obligated to pay Allstate the sum of $10,271.84.
Pursuant to CPLR 7510, the court “shall confirm an [arbitration] award upon application
of a party made within one year after its delivery to him [or her] unless the award is vacated or
modified upon a ground specified in section 7511.” Thus, the award may only be vacated if the
court finds that the rights of a party were prejudiced by: 655388/2023 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. CITY OF NEW YORK Page 2 of 4 Motion No. 001
2 of 4 [* 2] INDEX NO. 655388/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 8 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/16/2024
“(i) corruption, fraud or misconduct in procuring the award; or (ii) partiality of an arbitrator appointed as a neutral, except where the award was by confession; or (iii) an arbitrator, or agency or person making the award exceeded his power or so imperfectly executed it that a final and definite award upon the subject matter submitted was not made; or (iv) failure to follow the procedure of this article, unless the party applying to vacate the award continued with the arbitration with notice of the defect and without objection”
(CPLR 7511[b][1]). The grounds specified in CPLR 7511 for vacatur of an arbitration award are
exclusive (see Bernstein Family Ltd. Partnership v Sovereign Partners, L.P., 66 AD3d 1, 8 [1st
Dept 2009]), and it is a “well-established rule that an arbitrator’s rulings, unlike a trial court’s, are
largely unreviewable” (Matter of Falzone v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 15 NY3d 530, 534
[2013]). Nonetheless, where the award is one, such as the one here, that is rendered after
compulsory arbitration, i.e., an arbitration mandated by statute, the court must give “closer
judicial scrutiny of the arbitrator’s determination under CPLR 7511(b)” than would be warranted
in reviewing an award made after a consensual arbitration (Matter of Motor Veh. Acc. Indem.
Corp. v Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 NY2d 214, 223 [1996]; see Matter of Fiduciary Ins. Co. v
American Bankers Ins. Co. of Fla., 132 AD3d 40, 46 [2d Dept 2015] [with respect to
determinations of law, the applicable standard in mandatory no-fault arbitrations is whether any
reasonable hypothesis can be found to support the questioned interpretation]; Matter of Lackow
v Department of Educ. (or "Board") of City of N.Y, 51 AD3d 563, 567 [1st Dept 2008]; Matter of
Curley v State Farm Ins. Co., 269 AD2d 240, 242 [1st Dept 2000]; Matter of Travelers Ins. Co.
v Job, 239 AD2d 289, 291 [1st Dept 1997]). “To be upheld, an award in a compulsory
arbitration proceeding must have evidentiary support and cannot be arbitrary and capricious”
(Matter of Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp. v Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 NY2d at 223 [citations
omitted]; see Matter of Santer v Board of Educ. of E. Meadow Union Free Sch. Dist., 23 NY3d
251, 261 [2014]; Matter of Travelers Ins. Co. v Job, 239 AD2d at 291).
The instant proceeding to confirm the arbitration award was timely commenced on
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Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v City of New York 2024 NY Slip Op 33280(U) September 16, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 655388/2023 Judge: John J. Kelley Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 655388/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 8 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/16/2024
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. JOHN J. KELLEY PART 56M Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 655388/2023 In the Matter of MOTION DATE 07/12/2024 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 Petitioner,
-v- DECISION, ORDER, and CITY OF NEW YORK, JUDGMENT
Respondent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X
The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 were read on this motion to/for CONFIRM/DISAPPROVE AWARD/REPORT .
Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) petitions pursuant to CPLR 7510 to confirm an
arbitration award dated February 15, 2023, made by an arbitrator acting under the auspices of
Arbitration Forums, Inc. (AFI), and pursuant to CPLR 7514 to direct the entry of a money
judgment thereon. The respondent, City of New York, does not oppose the petition. The
petition is granted, the award rendered under AFI Docket No. I068-11153-22-00 is confirmed,
and Allstate is entitled to enter a money judgment against the City in the principal sum of
$10,271.84, plus statutory interest from February 15, 2023.
Allstate was the insurer of a motor vehicle owned by Alicia Jones and operated by
Simeon Smith. The City was the self-insurer and owner of a fire truck allocated for use by the
New York City Fire Department (FDNY). July 3, 2022, Smith was operating Jones’s vehicle
southbound on 224th Street in the Laurelton section of Queens County, and had a green light
as he approached that street’s intersection with Merrick Boulevard, when the operator of the
FDNY truck, who was travelling eastbound of Merrick Boulevard, failed to stop for a red light
controlling traffic in his direction, causing the FDNY truck and Jones’s vehicle to collide. Smith
655388/2023 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. CITY OF NEW YORK Page 1 of 4 Motion No. 001
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made claim upon Allstate, as the insurer of Jones’s vehicle, for the injuries that he sustained in
the accident. Allstate paid medical claims totaling $10,271.84 either to Smith or on his behalf.
Inasmuch as the City’s vehicle was a “motor vehicle weighing more than six thousand
five hundred pounds unloaded” (Insurance Law § 5105[a]) (id.), Allstate was entitled to seek a
personal injury protection (PIP) “loss transfer” from the City to reimburse it for the benefits that it
had paid out to and on behalf of Smith. To obtain this loss transfer, Allstate was required to
establish that the operator of the City truck was at fault in the happening of the accident in whole
or in part. Insurance Law § 5105(b) provides that, where an insurer seeks to recover first-party
benefits/PIP loss transfer from the “insurer of any other covered person” on the ground that the
other covered person was at fault in the happening of the accident, “[t]he sole remedy . . .shall
be the submission of the controversy to mandatory arbitration pursuant to procedures
promulgated or approved by the superintendent” of the New York State Department of Financial
Services. Pursuant to those regulations, AFI has been designated as the exclusive forum for
resolution of no-fault related, loss-transfer arbitration matters (see 11 NYCRR 65-4.11[b][1]).
On November 23, 2022, Allstate thus demanded inter-insurer arbitration with the City
before AFI. In the February 15, 2023 arbitration award, at which the City declined to appear, an
arbitrator acting under the auspices of AFI found Smith’s description of the accident to be
credible, found in favor of Allstate, and concluded that the operator of the FDNY truck was
100% at fault in the happening of the subject accident, inasmuch as he was negligent in failing
to comply with a traffic control device, thus causing the collision. She further determined that
the amount of medical benefits that Allstate paid to Smith or on Smith’s behalf had been proven
and, thus, concluded that the City was obligated to pay Allstate the sum of $10,271.84.
Pursuant to CPLR 7510, the court “shall confirm an [arbitration] award upon application
of a party made within one year after its delivery to him [or her] unless the award is vacated or
modified upon a ground specified in section 7511.” Thus, the award may only be vacated if the
court finds that the rights of a party were prejudiced by: 655388/2023 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. CITY OF NEW YORK Page 2 of 4 Motion No. 001
2 of 4 [* 2] INDEX NO. 655388/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 8 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/16/2024
“(i) corruption, fraud or misconduct in procuring the award; or (ii) partiality of an arbitrator appointed as a neutral, except where the award was by confession; or (iii) an arbitrator, or agency or person making the award exceeded his power or so imperfectly executed it that a final and definite award upon the subject matter submitted was not made; or (iv) failure to follow the procedure of this article, unless the party applying to vacate the award continued with the arbitration with notice of the defect and without objection”
(CPLR 7511[b][1]). The grounds specified in CPLR 7511 for vacatur of an arbitration award are
exclusive (see Bernstein Family Ltd. Partnership v Sovereign Partners, L.P., 66 AD3d 1, 8 [1st
Dept 2009]), and it is a “well-established rule that an arbitrator’s rulings, unlike a trial court’s, are
largely unreviewable” (Matter of Falzone v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 15 NY3d 530, 534
[2013]). Nonetheless, where the award is one, such as the one here, that is rendered after
compulsory arbitration, i.e., an arbitration mandated by statute, the court must give “closer
judicial scrutiny of the arbitrator’s determination under CPLR 7511(b)” than would be warranted
in reviewing an award made after a consensual arbitration (Matter of Motor Veh. Acc. Indem.
Corp. v Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 NY2d 214, 223 [1996]; see Matter of Fiduciary Ins. Co. v
American Bankers Ins. Co. of Fla., 132 AD3d 40, 46 [2d Dept 2015] [with respect to
determinations of law, the applicable standard in mandatory no-fault arbitrations is whether any
reasonable hypothesis can be found to support the questioned interpretation]; Matter of Lackow
v Department of Educ. (or "Board") of City of N.Y, 51 AD3d 563, 567 [1st Dept 2008]; Matter of
Curley v State Farm Ins. Co., 269 AD2d 240, 242 [1st Dept 2000]; Matter of Travelers Ins. Co.
v Job, 239 AD2d 289, 291 [1st Dept 1997]). “To be upheld, an award in a compulsory
arbitration proceeding must have evidentiary support and cannot be arbitrary and capricious”
(Matter of Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp. v Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 89 NY2d at 223 [citations
omitted]; see Matter of Santer v Board of Educ. of E. Meadow Union Free Sch. Dist., 23 NY3d
251, 261 [2014]; Matter of Travelers Ins. Co. v Job, 239 AD2d at 291).
The instant proceeding to confirm the arbitration award was timely commenced on
October 31, 2023 (see CPLR 304[a]). Allstate contends that the award was proper in all
respects, and that no grounds exist for modification or vacatur. The court agrees with Allstate, 655388/2023 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. CITY OF NEW YORK Page 3 of 4 Motion No. 001
3 of 4 [* 3] INDEX NO. 655388/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 8 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 09/16/2024
and concludes that the award was rational. Hence, the court further concludes that Allstate is
entitled both to the confirmation of the award and to the entry of a money judgment in the
principal sum of $10,271.84. The money judgment must bear interest from the date of the
arbitration award, that is, from February 15, 2023 (see CPLR 5002; Board of Educ. of Cent.
School Dist. No. 1 of Towns of Niagara, Wheatfield, Lewiston & Cambria v Niagara-Wheatfield
Teachers Assn., 46 NY2d 553, 558 [1979]; Dermigny v Harper, 127 AD3d 685, 686 [2d Dept
2015]; Matter of Levin & Glasser, P.C. v Kenmore Prop., LLC, 70 AD3d 443, 446 [1st Dept
2010]; Matter of Gruberg v Cortell Group, Inc., 143 AD2d 39, 39 [1st Dept 1988]).
Accordingly, it is,
ADJUDGED that the petition is granted, without opposition, and the arbitration award
rendered in the arbitration proceeding entitled Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v City of New York,
Arbitration Forums, Inc., Docket Number I068-11153-22-00, dated February 15, 2023, be, and
hereby is, confirmed; and it is further,
ORDERED that the Clerk of the court shall enter a money judgment in favor of Allstate
Insurance Company and against the City of New York in the principal sum of $10,271.84, with
statutory interest at 9% per annum from February 15, 2023.
This constitutes the Decision, Order, and Judgment of the court.
9/16/2024 $SIG$ DATE JOHN J. KELLEY, J.S.C.
CHECK ONE: X CASE DISPOSED NON-FINAL DISPOSITION
□ X GRANTED DENIED GRANTED IN PART OTHER
APPLICATION: SETTLE ORDER SUBMIT ORDER
□ CHECK IF APPROPRIATE: INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT REFERENCE
655388/2023 ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY vs. CITY OF NEW YORK Page 4 of 4 Motion No. 001
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