Opinion
2015-07-15
AVENUE C MEDICAL, P.C., as assignee of Alejandro Romero–Garcia, appellant, v. ENCOMPASS INSURANCE OF MA, etc., respondent.
Khavinson & Associates, P.C., Brooklyn, N.Y. (Thomas T. Kranidas of counsel), for appellant. Bruno, Gerbino & Soriano, LLP, Melville, N.Y. (Mitchell L. Kaufman of counsel), for respondent.
Khavinson & Associates, P.C., Brooklyn, N.Y. (Thomas T. Kranidas of counsel), for appellant. Bruno, Gerbino & Soriano, LLP, Melville, N.Y. (Mitchell L. Kaufman of counsel), for respondent.
In an action, in effect, pursuant to Insurance Law § 5106 (c) for a de novo determination of a claim for no-fault insurance benefits, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Bunyan, J.), dated October 30, 2013, which granted the defendant's motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(2) to dismiss the complaint.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The complaint, in effect, sought a de novo determination of the plaintiff's no-fault claim pursuant to Insurance Law § 5106(c). “The statute permits an insurer or a claimant to institute a court action to adjudicate the dispute de novo where the master arbitrator's award is $5,000 or greater” (Green v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. Trust, 16 A.D.3d 457, 457, 791 N.Y.S.2d 630). Here, the master arbitrator, by vacating the arbitrator's award in its entirety, effectively made no monetary award, and, because the master arbitrator's award was less than $5,000, neither party is entitled to maintain a court action to adjudicate the dispute de novo ( see id.; General Acc. Fire & Life Ins. Co. v. Avlonitis, 156 A.D.2d 424, 424, 548 N.Y.S.2d 543; Matter of Sansiviero v. Royal Globe Ins. Co., 109 A.D.2d 840, 842, 486 N.Y.S.2d 366).