Matter of Government Employees Ins. Co. v Tuzzo

Matter of Matter of Government Employees Ins. Co. v Tuzzo 2012 NY Slip Op 02875 Decided on April 17, 2012 Appellate Division, Second Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided on April 17, 2012
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKAPPELLATE DIVISION : SECOND JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
ANITA R. FLORIO, J.P.
PLUMMER E. LOTT
SANDRA L. SGROI
ROBERT J. MILLER, JJ.
2011-05926
(Index No. 16590/10)

[*1]In the Matter of Government Employees Insurance Company, petitioner-respondent,

v

Ana Cristina Tuzzo, et al., respondents, Hereford Insurance Company, et al., appellants.




Lawrence R. Miles, Long Island City, N.Y., for appellant
Hereford Insurance Company.
Nancy L. Isserlis, Long Island City, N.Y. (Francis M.
Cerniglia of counsel), for appellant Manuel
Santana.
Gail S. Lauzon (Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley, Garden
City, N.Y. [Donald S. Neuman, Jr.],
of counsel), for petitioner-
respondent.


DECISION & ORDER

In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 75 to permanently stay arbitration of an uninsured motorist claim, Hereford Insurance Company and Manuel Santana separately appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Sher, J.), entered March 25, 2011, which, after a framed-issue hearing, granted the petition and permanently stayed arbitration.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, with one bill of costs.

Where, as here, a case is determined after a hearing held before a Justice of the Supreme Court, this Court's power to review the evidence is as broad as that of the Supreme Court, taking into account in a close case the fact that the Supreme Court had the advantage of seeing the witnesses (see Northern Westchester Professional Park Assoc. v Town of Bedford, 60 NY2d 492, 499; Matter of Government Employees Ins. Co. v Albino, 91 AD3d 870, 871; Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v Tae Hong Ji, 81 AD3d 940, 940). We decline to disturb the Supreme Court's determination, made after a framed-issue hearing, that there was no physical contact between the insured vehicle and an alleged hit-and-run vehicle (see Matter of Government Empls. Ins. Co. v Albino, 91 AD3d at 871; Matter of Allstate Ins. Co. v Tae Hong Ji, 81 AD3d at 940; Matter of Government Employees Ins. Co. v Steinmetz, 51 AD3d 1022, 1022). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the petition and permanently stayed arbitration.
FLORIO, J.P., LOTT, SGROI and MILLER, JJ., concur.

ENTER:

Aprilanne Agostino

Clerk of the Court