Health Value Med., P.C. v Country-Wide Ins. Co.

Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, 2d, 11th And 13th Judicial Districts

Decided on February 27, 2026

2024-780 Q C

Present: : Wavny Toussaint, P.J., Marina Cora Mundy, Lisa S. Ottley, JJ

Thomas Torto, Esq., for appellant. Glinkenhouse Queen, Esqs. (Alan Queen of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Ira R. Greenberg, J.), dated July 9, 2024. The order denied defendant's motion to vacate a judgment entered September 13, 2023 pursuant to a default under a settlement.

ORDERED that the order is modified by granting defendant's motion to the extent of vacating so much of the September 13, 2023 judgment as awarded plaintiff $850 in attorney's fees and by providing that statutory no-fault interest shall accrue from December 1, 2011 at a compound rate; as so modified, the order is affirmed, without costs.

In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, a judgment was entered on September 13, 2023, pursuant to CPLR 5003-a (e), awarding plaintiff $911.26 as the principal sum, plus $850 in attorney's fees, $30,415.80 in statutory no-fault interest from October 24, 2008 at a compound rate, and additional costs, for a total of $32,402.06. Defendant appeals from an order of the Civil Court (Ira R. Greenberg, J.) dated July 9, 2024 denying the branch of defendant's motion seeking to vacate the September 13, 2023 judgment entered pursuant to CPLR 5003-a (e) and denying the branch of defendant's motion seeking the alternative relief of resettling and recalculating the judgment to eliminate the awards for [*2]attorney's fees and interest.

Contrary to defendant's argument, it did not establish that there was no enforceable settlement between the parties in this action. We further find that defendant's remaining grounds for vacating the judgment lack merit.

Defendant's argument that the judgment should be recalculated to toll interest based on plaintiff's delay in entering judgment after the October 24, 2008 settlement also lacks merit (see CPLR 5003-a [e]; Berenblit v Country Wide Ins. Co., 85 Misc 3d 135[A], 2025 NY Slip Op 50487[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2025]; Metro Med. Diagnostics, P.C. v Country Wide Ins. Co., 81 Misc 3d 142[A], 2024 NY Slip Op 50119[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2024]; Seaside Rehabilitation v Allstate Ins. Co., 63 Misc 3d 162[A], 2019 NY Slip Op 50918[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2019]). However, we find that the clerk should not have awarded interest from October 24, 2008, the date of settlement, but from December 1, 2011, the date the settlement documents were tendered to defendant (see CPLR 5003-a [e]; J.D.T. v Chaimowitz, 218 AD3d 821, 823 [2023]).

Lastly, we find that the clerk improperly awarded $850 in attorney's fees to plaintiff since CPLR 5003-a (e) does not provide for such an award (see Liss v Bringham Park Coop. Apts. Sec. No. 3, 264 AD2d 717, 718 [1999]).

Accordingly, the order is modified by granting defendant's motion to the extent of vacating so much of the September 13, 2023 judgment as awarded plaintiff $850 in attorney's fees and by providing that statutory no-fault interest shall accrue from December 1, 2011 at a compound rate.

TOUSSAINT, P.J., MUNDY and OTTLEY, JJ., concur.

ENTER:

Jennifer Chan

Chief Clerk

Decision Date: February 27, 2026