Opinion
2005-1170 KC.
Decided May 17, 2006.
Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Donald S. Kurtz, J.), entered May 24, 2005. The order, insofar as appealed from, granted defendant's motion for severance and denied plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment.
Order, insofar as appealed from, affirmed without costs.
PRESENT: WESTON PATTERSON, J.P., GOLIA and BELEN, JJ.
Plaintiff commenced this action to recover first-party no-fault benefits as the assignee of 11 alleged eligible injured persons. The claims arose out of 11 separate accidents. Defendant failed to timely answer, and a default judgment was subsequently entered. Defendant moved to vacate the default judgment and sever the causes of action. Plaintiff subsequently cross-moved for summary judgment. Thereafter, by order dated May 24, 2005, the court granted that part of defendant's motion seeking severance of the causes of action, denied, as moot, that part seeking vacatur of the default judgment "in that plaintiff has consented to vacate the default judgment," and denied plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment "as it was filed in violation of a stay imposed by order to show cause dated August 24, 2004." The instant appeal by plaintiff ensued.
A review of the record indicates that defendant's answer clearly places at issue, inter alia, whether there was fraud as to the accidents and the necessity and reasonableness of the medical services rendered. We find that these defenses are likely to raise few, if any, common issues of law or fact, even if the assignors' insurance policies are identical. Accordingly, the court below providently exercised its discretion in granting defendant's motion to sever plaintiff's causes of action ( see Radiology Resource Network, P.C. v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 12 AD3d 185; Mount Sinai Hosp. v. Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp., 291 AD2d 536; S.I.A. Med. Supply Inc. v. GEICO Ins. Co., 8 Misc 3d 134 [A], 2005 NY Slip Op 51170[U] [App Term, 2d 11th Jud Dists]; Metro Med. Diagnostics, P.C. v. Motor Veh. Acc. Indem. Corp., 6 Misc 3d 136 [A], 2005 NY Slip Op 50238[U] [App Term, 2d 11th Jud Dists]). In view of the foregoing, plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment was properly denied.
Weston Patterson, J.P., Golia and Belen, JJ., concur.