Opinion
August 17, 1992
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Ramirez, J.).
Ordered that the order and judgment is affirmed, with costs.
It is not disputed that, sometime after his demand, the petitioner was orally informed that the New York City Department of Social Services refused to pay his claim for Medicaid payments as assignee of Unity Hospital. The court conducted an evidentiary hearing to determine when that refusal had been made, and credited the testimony of the attorney for the New York City Department of Social Services. The credibility of witnesses is ordinarily a function of the trier of fact (see, Dominguez v Manhattan Bronx Surface Tr. Operating Auth., 46 N.Y.2d 528). The refusal of the New York City Department of Social Services to pay the petitioner's claim, upon his demand, commenced the running of the four-month Statute of Limitations (see, Matter of Loren v Rozzi, 73 A.D.2d 934). Therefore, under the circumstances, the court properly determined that the petitioner had notice that his claim had been unequivocally refused to be paid more than four months before he brought this proceeding, and, therefore, the motion to dismiss the petition as time-barred was properly granted (see, CPLR 217; Matter of Waterside Assocs. v. New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation, 72 N.Y.2d 1009; Matter of Wildlife Assocs. v. Town Bd., 141 A.D.2d 651). Harwood, J.P., O'Brien, Ritter and Copertino, JJ., concur.