Assigned first-party personal injury protection (PIP) cases, more commonly referred to as no-fault cases, have proliferated in New York’s courts over the past dozen years. According to a 2011 estimate by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, no-fault cases account for approximately 40 percent of the New York City Civil Court caseload.
No-fault cases litigated in the New York City Civil Court as well as the Nassau and Suffolk county district courts typically involve relatively small sums in dispute. Therefore, no-fault provider plaintiffs frequently attempt to establish their prima facie case by way of motions seeking summary judgment. The benefit of moving for summary judgment to the no-fault provider is threefold; if the no-fault provider is successful in establishing its prima facie case, it need not do so again at trial. Furthermore, the insurer’s opposition to the motion gives the no-fault provider insight into the strengths and weaknesses of insurer’s defense positions. In a best-case scenario for the no-fault provider, an insurer with a weak defense posture or one who encounters difficulty in obtaining documents and affidavits necessary to resist a summary judgment motion will lose the motion or be compelled to settle the case.
