Green v Combined Life Ins. Co. of N.Y.

Green v Combined Life Ins. Co. of N.Y. 2010 NY Slip Op 00572 [69 AD3d 531] January 28, 2010 Appellate Division, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. As corrected through Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Alan Green, Appellant,
v
Combined Life Insurance Co. of New York et al., Respondents.

—[*1] Weiss & Hiller, PC, New York (Michael S. Hiller and Lauren Rudick of counsel), for appellant.

White Fleischner & Fino, LLP, New York (Evan A. Richman of counsel), for respondents.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Doris Ling-Cohan, J.), entered February 13, 2008, which granted defendants' motion to dismiss the second cause of action, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

Plaintiff alleges he was defamed by defendant Downie's written report to the insurer defendants of his interview with and examination of plaintiff. Even if defamatory, the statements are protected by a qualified privilege because they were made in a medical report to the insurer (see Gould v Broad, 22 AD2d 800 [1964], affd 16 NY2d 666 [1965]). Plaintiff's conclusory allegations of malice are insufficient to overcome the privilege (see Ferguson v Sherman Sq. Realty Corp., 30 AD3d 288 [2006]). Concur—Andrias, J.P., McGuire, Moskowitz, Freedman and RomÁn, JJ.