Opinion
2006-1100 K C.
Decided on January 8, 2008.
Appeal from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Bernard J. Graham, J.), entered January 19, 2006. The judgment denied the petition to vacate a master arbitrator's award.
Judgment modified by adding thereto a provision confirming the master arbitrator's award; as so modified, affirmed without costs.
PRESENT: WESTON PATTERSON, J.P., GOLIA and BELEN, JJ.
563 Grand Medical, P.C. commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR 7511 to vacate a master arbitrator's award which denied its claims for assigned first-party no-fault benefits. After respondent opposed the petition, the court denied the petition. This appeal by petitioner ensued.
An arbitrator in an arbitration proceeding to recover no-fault benefits may raise any issue which the arbitrator deems relevant ( see Insurance Department Regulations [ 11 NYCRR] § 65-4.4 [e]; § 65-4.5 [o]; see also Matter of Medical Socy. of State of N.Y. v Serio, 100 NY2d 854, 872; 563 Grand Med., P.C. v New York State Ins. Dept., 24 AD3d 413; cf. Matter of Health Endurance Med., P.C. v Deerbrook Ins. Co., 44 AD3d 857). The master arbitrator determined that, based upon the documents submitted to the arbitrator, the arbitrator had a rational basis for finding that petitioner was not entitled to recover because, among other things, petitioner may have been seeking to recover for work performed by an independent contractor. In our view, the master arbitrator's determination was not arbitrary, capricious or irrational ( see Matter of Petrofsky [Allstate Ins. Co.], 54 NY2d 207). Accordingly, the court below properly denied the petition to vacate the master arbitrator's award. However, upon denying the petition, the court was required, pursuant to CPLR 7511 (e), to confirm the award ( see Matter of Exclusive Med. Diagnostic v Government Empls. Ins. Co., 306 AD2d 476 ).
Weston Patterson, J.P., Golia and Belen, JJ., concur.