Preferred Med. Imaging, P.C. v Countrywide Ins. Co.

[*1] Preferred Med. Imaging, P.C. v Countrywide Ins. Co. 2007 NY Slip Op 50693(U) [15 Misc 3d 133(A)] Decided on April 3, 2007 Appellate Term, Second Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on April 3, 2007
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
APPELLATE TERM: 2nd and 11th JUDICIAL DISTRICTS
PRESENT: : PESCE, P.J., WESTON PATTERSON and RIOS, JJ
2006-344 K C.

Preferred Medical Imaging, P.C. a/a/o WILMA ALMEIDA, GARRY BOODHAN, MYRIAM COLON, MILTON MENDEZ and YOUNG JIN NO, Respondent,

against

Countrywide Insurance Company, Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Kathy J. King, J.), dated December 27, 2005. The order granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.

Order reversed without costs and plaintiff's motion for summary judgment denied.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, plaintiff's motion for summary judgment was supported by an affirmation from plaintiff's counsel, an affidavit by an employee of plaintiff, and various documents annexed thereto. The affidavit executed by plaintiff's employee stated in a conclusory manner that the documents attached to plaintiff's motion papers were plaintiff's business records. In opposition, defendant argued, inter alia, that the affidavit by plaintiff's employee failed to lay a proper foundation for the documents annexed to plaintiff's moving papers and that, as a result, plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case. The court granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and this appeal by defendant ensued.

On appeal, defendant reiterates its argument that plaintiff did not make a prima facie showing because plaintiff failed to establish the admissibility of the claim forms annexed to plaintiff's moving papers. Inasmuch as the affidavit submitted by plaintiff's employee was insufficient to establish that said employee possessed personal knowledge of plaintiff's practices and procedures so as to lay a foundation for the admission, as business records, of the documents [*2]annexed to plaintiff's moving papers, plaintiff failed to make a prima facie showing of its entitlement to summary judgment (see Dan Med., P.C. v New York Cent. Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 14 Misc 3d 44 [App Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists 2006]). Accordingly, plaintiff's motion for summary judgment should have been denied.

To the extent defendant asks this court to search the record and grant it summary judgment, defendant is not entitled to such relief since, among other things, the record does not contain any proof that defendant's denials were timely issued.

Pesce, P.J., Weston Patterson and Rios, JJ., concur.