A.C. Med., P.C. v. MVAIC

A.C. Medical, P.C., as Assignee of Krystle Thomas, Appellant, against MVAIC, Respondent. Law Office of Melissa Betancourt, P.C. (Melissa Betancourt of counsel), for appellant. Marshall & Marshall, PLLC (Tracy Bader Pollak of counsel), for respondent. Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Odessa Kennedy, J.), entered February 20, 2018. The order granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and denied plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment. ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with $25 costs. In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, plaintiff appeals from an order of the Civil Court which granted a motion by defendant Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (sued herein as MVAIC) for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and denied plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff, as assignee, was required to exhaust its remedies against all potential insurance carriers before seeking relief from defendant (see Hauswirth v American Home Assur. Co., 244 AD2d 528 [1997]; Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Assoc. v Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp., 58 Misc 3d 132[A], 2017 NY Slip Op 51778[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2017]). Here, plaintiff did not demonstrate that it had exhausted its remedies. As a result, plaintiff's claim is premature (see Hauswirth, 244 AD2d 528). Accordingly, the order is affirmed. PESCE, P.J., ALIOTTA and SIEGAL, JJ., concur. ENTER: Paul Kenny Chief Clerk Decision Date: October 18, 2019