Justice Ingrid Joseph
Provider AR Medical sued insurer GEICO to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits for services rendered to its assignors. GEICO made an oral motion in limine, prior to trial, to preclude Dr. Rozenberg from testifying and dismissal, arguing the action raised Mallella issues. AR’s attorney argued the cases GEICO presented were not dispositive on the issue of whether AR could pursue no-fault benefits in a civil action as none of the cited cases resulted in a determination the company was a Mallela corporation. The court found, after review of submitted documents, that GEICO failed to demonstrate entitlement to relief sought in its in limine application, finding the cited cases were devoid of any finding Rozenberg was a participant in, or that AR was the fruit of a fraudulent scheme. As a magistrate previously noted in the prior cases, insurer Allstate voluntarily dismissed its action against AR and Rozenberg, thus, there were no recommendations that would have an effect on any of the issues central to the instant trial. The court noted while Rozenberg’s conviction and license revocation may have some bearing on his credibility, they did not affect his ability to testify as a prima facie witness. Yet, it also awarded verdict in GEICO’s favor.
