Raymond Semente, D.C., P.C. v. Geico Gen. Ins. Co.

Opinion

Raymond Semente, D.C., P.C., as Assignee of KERSTAN PRINGLE, Respondent,

against

Geico General Insurance Co., Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Carmen R. Velasquez, J.), entered February 21, 2014. The order granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, with $30 costs, and plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is denied.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, defendant appeals from an order of the Civil Court which granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.

Plaintiff failed to demonstrate its prima facie entitlement to summary judgment, as the affidavit plaintiff submitted in support of its motion failed to establish that the claim at issue had not been timely denied (see Viviane Etienne Med. Care, P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co., 25 NY3d 498 [2015]), or that defendant had issued a timely denial of claim that was conclusory, vague or without merit as a matter of law (see Westchester Med. Ctr. v Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 78 AD3d 1168 [2010]; Ave T MPC Corp. v Auto One Ins. Co., 32 Misc 3d 128[A], 2011 NY Slip Op 51292[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2011]).

Accordingly, the order is reversed and plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is denied.

Pesce, P.J., Aliotta and Solomon, JJ., concur.

Decision Date: September 27, 2016